"Someone somewhere said that ballads sound easy to play but the fact is that they're difficult. Something to do with the slow tempo being a potential trap for the unwary. Of course, no one on these 36 tracks falls into that one. Nor would anyone agree that just because a piece of music is at slow tempo does it become a ballad. One of the Collins music dictionary definitions is "a sentimental drawing room song" which might be near enough for a few items under consideration. Mostly, they are by jazz musicians enjoying good and familiar tunes on which they can weave attractive embellishments. Just about everything is or should be familiar and to talk about it all is not necessary. The pleasures abound : Hawkins, Berry, Freeman, Webster, Young, Bechet, Hodges - Teagarden, Holiday, Anderson, Cole, Fitzgerald, Armstrong, Sinatra - are among the best. You can't fault it at all, really. But it's not for one long listen or, even, one whole CD at a sitting". Bert WHYATT, Jazz Journal International. Includes a 16 page booklet with both French and English notes.