Ballads, released in 1963, is a landmark album by the John Coltrane Quartet, recorded for the Impulse! Label. In contrast to Coltrane's famously intense and exploratory style, the album showcases his lyrical and tender side through a collection of well-known and obscure jazz standards. It features the classic quartet lineup of John Coltrane on saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.