Customer Reviews

Complete Alhambra & Blackhawk Performances

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Jamal's live shows from the 50's and 60's haven't been represented very well on cd, so make no mistake: this is a major release, one that fans have long been crowing for.

Til now, the best you could do was "Cross Country Tour," a double cd offering a large chunk of the Pershing show with some of the Alhambra and Blackhawk thrown in for good measure. But overall it was more of a tease than any real attempt to placate the faithful. Jamal Fans were resigned to slog along with whatever they could get their hands on. And that wasn't much.

But the folks at Jazz Lips have seen to it that our desires are fully satisfied on this release. At long last we hear each show in its largest offering yet. And as a previous reveiewer mentioned, these shows are, in many ways, more satisfying than the Spotlight or Pershing performances simply for the fact that Jamal has matured and allows himself to stretch out on a number of tunes.

This was also Israel Crosby's final stretch of shows with the trio. His death in 1962 saddened many fans and closed the door on what was a wonderful chapter in trio jazz, much as Scott LaFaro's death had done for Bill Evan's group a year before. Crosby's humor, inventiveness, and dizzying runs are subtle but tremendously effective in supporting Jamal's laconic phrasing.

It's a good time to be a fan of Ahmad Jamal. There's a lot of stuff out there awaiting your ears. Endulge these small labels with gratitude, because, without them, some of the best jazz ever recorded might still be sitting on dusty shelves awaiting the inevitable fires, careless custodians, and other storage room tragedies aging tapes are heir to.

This is Jamal at his best. For me, these 1961/62 performances are even better than the more famous "at the Pershing" from 1958 because they are more extended and complex; the group is more mature at these sides. Jamal's subtlety was never as captured as in tunes like "We kiss in a shadow" and "Falling in love with love".
Marcello Menta
mentanico@hotmail.com

I've grooved on Ahmad Jamal since the 50's, and this collection of beautifully recorded live performances from the early 60's is superb. His "classic" trio, with Israel Crosby and Vernell Fournier, ticked like a fine swiss watch. If you like piano jazz, this is pure platinum.

If you want to hear what is a refined jazz trio, buy it KNOW!
They have dinamic, play the right notes in the right places. Jamal sounds great, using a lot of his highest piano notes. He leave a lot of space silence, showing the soberb and soft rythm section, with bass master Israel Crosby and the most refined drummer ever, Vernell Fournier.
Give a great presente to your ear and soul!