Product Description

Jerry Wald 8217;s Tremendous Hit on Decca Records No. 4433 New Popular Edition POINCIANA (Song of the Tree) Lyric by Buddy Bernier Music by Nat Simon Featured by Jerry Wald Photo on cover of Jerry Wald Edward B. Marks Music Corporation. RCA Building, Radio City, N.Y. Copyright MCMXXXVI

Track Listing

1. Old Devil Moon
2. Ahmad's Blues
3. Poinciana
4. Billy Boy
5. Will You Still Be Mine?
6. Pavanne
7. Crazy He Calls Me
8. Surrey with the Fringe on Top
9. Aki and Ukthay (Brother and Sister)
10. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
11. Gal in Calico
12. It's Easy to Remember

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #158040 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

Essential recordings
As Miles Davis tells in his autobiography, Jamal's approach to jazz deeply influenced him. This recordings with a drumless trio, featuring Ray Crawford on guitar, show an incredible level of interplay and a carefully balanced alternation between arranged and improvised passages. There is a lot of virtuosity, but it is always functional to the mood and swing of the songs, many of which were later rendered by the famous quintet of Miles Davis with John Coltrane. It is also a kind of classical feeling in the clean touch of Jamal, that turns the music easy to listen in spite of its deepness.

Tuneful, lightly swinging jazz from 1955
Ahmad Jamal's early music was immensely tuneful and rhythmic, a treat for jazz lovers, and easy for jazz newcomers to tap their toes to and hum along. It's infectious, upbeat and at the same time compelling and involving. Miles Davis was a fan, who "liked the the level of excitement that Ahmad Jamal achieved without being obvious." Jamal can play as fast as anyone, but chooses to restrain himself and use only what works to get the listener involved. Jamal was at his best performing live, and this record is a good example of that. When you listen to this mature, confident, brilliant and accomplished pianist, it's hard to believe that he was only 25 when the record was made! This is the kind of CD that you can't go wrong with: Great tunes, great melody, mellow but lively sound, and rewarding to many repeated listens. I love it. Once you're hooked on this album, pick up The Ahmad Jamal Trio, with songs like Perfidia, Rica Pulpa and others, at least as tuneful and gently rhythmical as this. They're both no-lose propositions. Great, enjoyable, intelligent and swinging music.

Lousy remaster
Sound quality is poor, distant, lacking any stage or presence. Also dissapointed with the version of Poinciana, mostly guitar by soemone I never heard of, and was not mentioned in the liner notes. Overall, a miss sonically and in the packaging.