CD1
1. But Not For Me
2. The Surrey With the Fringe On Top
3. Moonlight in Vermont
4. Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)
5. There is No Greater Love
6. Poinciana
7. Woody 'n You
8. What’s New?
9. Too Late Now
10. All the Things You Are
11. Cherokee
12. It Might As Well Be Spring
13. I'll Remember April
14. My Funny Valentine
15. Gone With the Wind
16. Billy Boy
17. It's You or No One
18. They Can’t Take That Away from Me
19. Poor Butterfly
20. Secret Love
21. Taking a Chance on Love
22. Soft Winds
CD2
1. Taboo
2. Should I?
3. Stompin’ at the Savoy
4. The Girl Next Door
5. I Wish I Knew
6. Cheek to Cheek
7. Autumn in New York
8. Secret Love
9. Squatty Roo
10. That's All
11. This Can’t Be Love
12. Autumn Leaves
13. Ahmad’s Blues
14. Ole Devil Moon
15. Seleritus
16. It Could Happen To You
17. Ivy
18. Tater Pie
19. Let's Fall In Love
20. Aki & Ukthay (Brother & Sister)
CD3
1. You Don’t Know What Love is
2. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was
3. So Beats My Heart For You
4. A Gal In Calico
5. Our Delight
6. Little Old Lady
7. For All We Know
8. Pavanne
9. Excerpt from the Blues
10. Easy To Love
11. Time On My Hands
12. Raincheck
13. I'll Never Stop Loving You
14. Speak Low
15. Rhumba No. 2
16. We Kiss In the Shadow
17. Sweet and Lovely
18. The Party's Over
19. Love For Sale
20. Snow Fall
CD4
1. Broadway
2. Willow Weep For Me
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Isn't It Romantic?
5. The Breeze and I
6. Time On My Hands
7. Angel Eyes
8. You Go To My Head
9. Star Eyes
10. All of You
11. You're Blasé
12. What is This Thing Called Love?
13. Poinciana
14. Autumn Leaves (1955 Studio Version)
CD5
1. I'll Take Romance/My Funny Valentine
2. Like Someone In Love
3. Falling In Love With Love
4. The Best Thing For You
5. April In Paris
6. The Second Time Around
7. We Live In Two Different Worlds
8. Night Mist Blues
9. Darn That Dream
10. On Green Dolphin Street
11. Poinciana (1955 Studio Version)
12. Pavanne (1955 Studio Version)
13. All of You (1955 Studio Version)
14. Darn That Dream (1955 Studio Version)
15. Ahmad’s Blues (1952 Studio Version)
16. A Gal In Calico (1952 Studio Version)
17. Aki & Ukthay (Brother & Sister) (1952 Studio Version)
18. Billy Boy (1952 Studio Version)
Ahmad Jamal – Piano
Israel Crosby – Bass
Vernel Fournier - Drums
On CD4, track 14, CD5 tracks 11-18
Ray Crawford – Guitar replaces Vernel Fournier
On CD5, tracks 15-18
Eddie Calhoun – Bass replaces Israel Crosby
Ahmad Jamal fans will hail this five-CD set with
open arms, as it contains all Ahmad’s trio recordings from 1958 to
1962, including the sessions recorded at Chicago’s Pershing Lounge
and Alhambra club, the Spotlight in Washington, and the Blackhawk
in San Francisco. As the sleeve says: “This was the music that made
Jamal famous”.
The opening But Not For Me immediately sets the scene, with Ahmad’s economical piano superbly backed by Israel Crosby’s punctuations on bass and
Vernel Fournier’s just-right drumming. There are examples of Jamal’s habit of ceasing to play and letting the rhythm section keep up the momentum. Bill
Evans’s trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian is often hailed as the first fully integrated piano trio but Ahmad Jamal’s trio predates it by a year, and
there is no doubt that all three members of the group were integral to its success. Crosby’s rock-steady bass and Fournier’s simple but mightily effective
drum patterns were essential aspects of the group, as was Ahmad’s frugal piano. A track like Should I? seems to contain as much bass and drums as
piano.
Like all good jazzmen, Ahmad can surprise the listener. Who else would take Too Late Now? at such a racy speed, and then keep altering the tempo?
And note how Jamal suddenly turns the middle eight of Moonlight in Vermont into a waltz, as well as ending it with a mystifying stop-start
sequence. He is also a master of dynamics, moving unexpectedly from soft to loud and back again.
Ahmad certainly had his clichés, such as the syncopated triplet he often uses at the end of tunes. As you work your way through the 94 tracks in this
collection, you become increasingly aware of some of Jamal’s favourite tricks, especially at the start or end of numbers.
Israel Crosby sadly died in August 1962 and was replaced by Eddie Calhoun on the last four tracks, while Vernel Fournier was replaced by guitarist Ray
Crawford on several more. Some of the items with Crawford are magical, such as the precision between guitar and piano in Darn That Dream.
The recordings are clear and well-balanced, with bass and drums plainly audible, underlining the valuable contributions of Israel and Vernel. The 36-page
booklet is a colourful bonus, containing the original liner notes from all the albums included.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Jazz Dynamics 006
