Blood Ballad Explained

Blood Ballad
Type:studio
Artist:Pandelis Karayorgis
Cover:Blood_ballad_cover.jpeg
Released:2001
Recorded:April 25 & 26, 2000
Studio:Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn
Genre:Jazz
Length:55:06
Label:Leo
Chronology:Pandelis Karayorgis
Prev Title:No Such Thing
Prev Year:2001
Next Title:Disambiguation
Next Year:2002

Blood Ballad is an album by jazz pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, which was recorded in 2000 and released on the English Leo label. It was the second album featuring his trio with bassist Nate McBride and drummer Randy Peterson. The title piece was inspired by Billy Strayhorn; "Centennial" is a tribute to Duke Ellington on hundredth anniversary of his birth.[1]

Reception

In his review for AllMusic, François Couture states "Tighter and more diverse than Heart and Sack, it is also paradoxically a little less exciting. Karayorgis' sense of melody and harmony truly are his own; his playing is as immediately identifiable as Mat Maneri, another Bostonian and regular acolyte."

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that "The opening sequence of 'In The Cracks Of Four' and 'Blood Ballad' probably represents Pandelis's best moments on record and a very good place to start exploring his music."[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Pandelis Karayorgis except as indicated

  1. "In the Cracks of Four" – 6:05
  2. "Blood Ballad" – 6:29
  3. "Coming Out of Nothing" – 7:00
  4. "Ask" – 8:20
  5. "Stomp on One" – 4:36
  6. "Tomorrow Was" – 6:55
  7. "Centennial" – 5:44
  8. "Don't Ask" – 3:48
  9. "One Up, One Down" (John Coltrane) – 6:06

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. http://karayorgis.com/Pages/CDPages/BloodBallad.html Blood Ballad
  2. Book: Cook, Richard. Richard Cook (journalist). Brian Morton . Brian Morton (Scottish writer) . The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. 9th. The Penguin Guide to Jazz. 2008. Penguin. London. 0141034017. 809.