Yes, there are a plethora of excellent pianists out there on the jazz scene. But, with all of them from Mehldau on down, you listen to them and think, “there’s the Evans influence, there’s the Jarrett sound, etc.” Ahmad Jamal, who got popular in the 50s for his hit “Poinciana,” STILL sounds like no one else, and he makes it sound so good that you wonder why no one else has taken up his stylistic approach. Is it that difficult? Too intuitive? Whatever it is, it just may go to the grave with him, and all we’ll have left are excellent albums like this latest one.
As has been his approach as of late, he’s in a quartet format, this time with Reginald Veal/b, Herlin Riley/dr and Manolo Badrena/perc, and they all work like a cohesive and symbiotic team. The mix of originals and standards is almost superfluous, as his approach to a piece like “I’m In The Mood For Love” or “I’ll Always Be With You” is so clever and original that the melody merely pops in and out like colors in a kaleidoscope. With Ellington’s “I’ve Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” he throws in more quotes than Bartlets, while the percolating rhythm caresses the framework of the theme. Originals such as “Silver” and the title track have a personal lilt that mixes and matches piano cocktail musings with sudden forays into cascading and thunderous avalanches of notes, not unlike a boxer who gentle jabs before throwing a knockout blow to the head. Through it all, the music is personal, lyrical, interpretive and wonderfully original. My only wish is that he will do a solo album, as his intro to “I Got It…” is so luscious that you’re almost disappointed that his rhythm team joins in the conversation. Not a bad complaint!!!
Each song is also accompanied by some poetry which is a nice uplifting way to take in the sounds.
Harmonia Mundi