Priceless Jazz

Performer: Ahmad Jamal
Engineer: Edward Green; Bernie Clapper; Ron Malo; Tommy Nola
Producer: David Usher; Dick Lapalm; Jack Tracy; Phil Chess; Ahmad Jamal; Bob Belden (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This is part of GRP Records' Priceless Jazz series. Personnel: Ahmad Jamal (piano); Ray Crawford (guitar); Frank Gant, Vernell Fournier, Walter Perkins (drums). Liner Note Author: James Isaacs. Photographers: Alan Nahigian; Chuck Stewart. This disc offers a very fine, if brief (10 tracks) sampler of pianist Ahmad Jamal's work from the mid-1950s to the mid-'60s. On the most superficial listen, the music here seems to fall in line with the standard cool and post-bop modes of the era, but further attention reveals Jamal's exquisite sensibility as an architect of sound in the small-ensemble context. On "Concern" and the well-known "Poinciana," Jamal's penchant for a chamber-like conception of jazz is evident. As a player and arranger, Jamal utilizes space and subtlety to create tension within his own spare melody lines and between the players in his trio. These techniques abound in his interpretations of tunes by Irving Berlin, Billy Strayhorn, McCoy Tyner, and Errol Garner, and on his own excellent compositions (note the carefully calibrated pizzicato guitar lines by Ray Crawford on "New Rhumba"). Through all of this delicacy and formal innovation, Jamal's group manages to swing like nobody's business, giving the listener a double dose of pleasure on this budget compilation.

With his spare, subtle swing, pianist Ahmad Jamal is an important figure in both mainstream and post-bop jazz. The commercial success of his 1950s trio recordings made important inroads for jazz. His influence on Miles Davis was acknowledged by the trumpeter himself, who recorded many tunes from Jamal's repertoire. Incredibly, Jamal maintained his verve and artistic relevance all the way into the 21st century, long after many of his contemporaries had passed on.

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