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Ballads is a special Coltrane masterpiece and consistent best-seller, recorded in December 1961 with Coltrane’s classic quartet—pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones—. When asked why such an undertaking, Coltrane replied, "variety." The recording captures the famed John Coltrane Quartet in a performance of timeless ballads. Coltrane was one of jazz's greatest ballad players, and his lyrical gifts are in sharp relief here.