Ballad records are always a risky proposition. It takes a certain degree of finesse to pull off an hour of slow-tempo, melodic pieces without sending the listener into boredom. On Broad Strokes, trombonist Roswell Rudd takes the plunge, with mixed results.

Rudd spent the '60s playing with free jazz luminaries like Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, and Archie Shepp; he teamed with Steve Lacy for an all-Monk band. Although he spent a lot of time as a sideman, his own personal discography as a leader has tended toward the sparse side. In the last few years he's been hiding out in the Catskills, drifting into obscurity.

Broad Strokes documents the recent return of Rudd to the recording world. Tracks like Herbie Nichols' "Change of Season" and Monk's "Coming on the Hudson" receive sensitive and emotionally rich interpretations. But Ellington's "All Too Soon/Way Low" sags into the realm of downtempo Lawrence Welk; and Rudd's own "Sassy and Dolphy" suffers from rudimentary guitar accompaniment by Duck Baker and frighteningly incompetent vocals by Christopher Rudd. Overall, this record is for Roswell Rudd fanatics only. If you're new to Rudd, you should check out a record like New York Eye and Ear Control and dig for the roots—instead of listening to a disc that demands frequent use of the fast forward button.