Most jazz musicians since Coltrane have favoured a model of continual artistic development, but as a child of a previous generation, Ahmad Jamal might be forgiven for taking a different approach to what he calls American Classical music.
The Pittsburgh-born pianist emerged in the 1950s with his own unique sound - spacious, motific, deeply grooving – and, a few detours aside, he has continued to polish that particular stone ever since.
Not that nothing has changed – at a sprightly 87, Jamal’s command of his art continues to grow and deepen – but even with a vocal contribution from rapper Abd Al Malik and creative disruption from percussionist Manolo Badrena, the Jamal gem still sparkles here with the same light that endeared him to millions over sixty years ago.
