'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.