"A Ballad" is Gerry Mulligan's original composition featured on the 1957 Verve album Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi, a slow and introspective piece that showcases the baritone saxophonist's lyrical sensibility. Mulligan's partial solo over the 43-bar form at a gentle 67 beats per minute in C major is one of the most intimate moments on the record, his baritone saxophone tone warm and full as he navigates his own composition's unusual structure. The 43-bar form is highly unconventional, its odd length creating an asymmetric quality that prevents the improvisation from settling into predictable patterns. As the sole soloist on this track, Mulligan carries the full expressive weight, demonstrating that his musical gifts extended well beyond the fast, contrapuntal playing for which he was best known. The rhythm section of Lou Levy on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Stan Levey on drums provides accompaniment of appropriate delicacy, their playing scaled to match the ballad's intimate character. "A Ballad" reveals Mulligan as a thoughtful composer whose writing for his own instrument drew on his deep understanding of the baritone saxophone's expressive capabilities, creating a performance of quiet beauty that provides a welcome respite from the album's more extroverted tracks.
