In the Dark

With the passing, on Sunday, of Ahmad Jamal, at the age of 92, another legendary Jazz musician has left us. He was a consistently inventive pianist, of great elegance, and a wonderful knack of deconstructing a tune into its component parts before reassembling it into something fresh. His formative years were a time when many keyboard players emphasized virtuosic brilliance, but Jamal’s approach was relaxed and spare. He was great letting his story develop gradually but very enjoyably through a series of riffs over a compelling rhythmic foundation. A perfect example is this track, Poinciana, from a hugely popular album Live at the Pershing: But Not For Me, recorded in 1958 with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums. Ahmad Jamal is no longer with us, but this groove will last forever!

R.I.P. Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, 1930-2023).

This entry was posted on April 17, 2023 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Jazz, R.I.P. with tags Ahmad Jamal, Jazz, Live at the Pershing: But Not For Me, Poinciana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.