Customer Reviews

After Fajr

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I just picked this up at my local CD store used for $2.50 - figured what the hell, I have always meant to try Jamal, just never did.

Well, let me tell ya, I am totally into this CD!!!

Thing is, it might have something to do with my "freshness" - meaning I have never really listened to him before. There is definitely something to say with being familiar with a musician's style and sound... unless you don't know what that is!

This is challenging music.
You HAVE TO listen to it with a wide-open mind and with few if any preconceptions and expectations.


If you can dig this for what it is and not compare it to other music of his or of other folks - well you just 'might' be able to really enjoy the music!
Oh, and play it a whole bunch, it gets more stupendous with every listen!!!

I emphatically disagree with the other two interviews. I love it. It is challenging as hell, but so worth it once it grows on you.

Highly recommended.

When Ahmad Jamal releases a new album it is areal event in Jazz since he remains, for me, one of the few musicians that still plays jazz with an original voice.....for piano that's no small achievement.

This album has his signature all over it. However after the first listen I did not even try to listen to the entire album. I'm giving it another try as I write this review. I still hear the compassion and warmth in the groups playing that I long to hear. The tunes are not as arresting as some of his other albums but the cohesiveness of the groups playing is what comes accross.

The intricate interplay in the execution of the arrangements does not come through in this recording. It is such a shame that with an artist of Ahmad's stature a better quality recording process cannot be employed. The 'digitalness' of the sound subtracts form the great blending that the group clearly has honed more than any other -including the keith Jarrett trio. Maybe one day this album will be re-issued as a better quality format e.g. SACD which will make it far more listeneable.

If you do not have other Ahmad Albums then this is not the one to get, but certainly one to add to your collection.

By the way, I love the lyrics to the vocal track but I cannot listen to the over-honeyed vocal rendereing of the title track.

If you've heard Jamal's early work and are expecting something in that vein, you are bound to be most disappointed with After Fajr. I found this music difficult and unfulfilling.

In the 1950's and early 60's, Jamal was a jazz phenomenon. The main virtue of his work in those days was taking a popular song (or even one of his fine originals) and interpreting it in a simple, melodic, and powerful way. It was user-friendly to the non-jazz audience, and impressive to the mainstream jazz lover as well. There are two collections that represent an excellent sampling of this work: Cross Country Tour and Ahmad's Blues. This is the peak of classic Ahmad Jamal artistry.

The melodies on After Fajr can be extremely difficult. One song has a vocal part that even a classically trained vocalist would have difficulty executing in a confident fashion. Jamal's piano playing has become increasingly "flighty" for lack of a better word. He flits across the keyboard from one mood and one style to the next with no seque or warning. It is the performance equivalent of attention deficit syndrome.

If you want the easy listening cocktail-music style of Ahmad Jamal that made him famous, avoid this latest CD. I'm sure that some listeners will have an academic interest in this new release. It doesn't swing. It doesn't soar. It does not move me at all, except to the CD player, to take it out of the machine and put on something more tuneful.