Chamber Music Of The New Jazz [Digipak]

Performer: Ahmad Jamal
Producer: David Usher; Bryan Koniarz; David Usher
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Ahmad Jamal (piano); Ahmad Jamal; Israel Crosby (bass instrument); Ray Crawford (guitar). Liner Note Author: Herbert Lust. Recording information: Chicago, IL (05/23/1955). Verve should be endlessly praised for reissuing superb albums like Ahmad Jamal's CHAMBER MUSIC OF THE NEW JAZZ on CD, bringing them back into commercial circulation so that jazz fans old and new can experience (or re-experience) their splendor. While the set list of 1955's CHAMBER MUSIC may appear standard, with treatments of "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "A Foggy Day" (Jamal's fine original "New Rumba" is the exception), there is nothing "standard" about this excellent session, in conception, sound, or execution. Both "chamber music" and "the new jazz" are appropriate appellations. The simultaneously stark/lush trio format--which features Jamal's piano in deep conversation with Israel Crosby's bass and Ray Crawford's guitar--gives the music a cerebral, floating feel. (Oddly enough, the drummerless background actually highlights the rhythmic intensity of each musician's playing--especially Crawford's pizzicato guitar work). The music also differentiates itself from the hard bop of the time in managing to merge advanced, complex playing with an exquisite sensitivity to dynamics and delicacy of mood. On each of these nine compositions, the musicians play with understated intensity, often using space as a rhythmic element (as on the interlude to "Darn That Dream").

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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