The John Coltrane Quartet – Ballads (WaxTime)

Even though some critics found Coltranes Ballads to be too easy, there's nothing wrong with this album. The jazz saxophonist does what he always did: with an untiring will to develop personally and artistically, he explores new modes of his playing. On Ballads he emphasises its gentle side - a path he went down with Johnny Hartman and Duke Ellington. This collaboration with McCoy Tyner is neither aggressive nor outward-looking. Coltrane is all by himself, sometimes predictable, and yet these are the advantages of the album.