Customer Reviews

A Quiet Time

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Five ENJOYABLE Stars! Pure swinging, inventive jazz brilliance. Jazz Hall of Fame keyboard master Ahmad Jamal turns 80 in 2010 and the intensity of his art on 'A Quiet Time" continues to unfurl as a beautiful testament to his place in jazz history, as he continues to play with urgency and fluency. He is a multi-award winning trailblazer with the genius to have influenced artists from Miles Davis (who told one of his pianists-"play like Ahmad Jamal" and who used Jamal's endlessly-looping "pedal point" techniques to develop Miles' "modal" works, which in turn influenced John Coltrane) to Cannonball Adderley to Randy Weston (who was working in a record shop when he first heard Jamal's "Poinciana") to Blossom Dearie (who adopted Jamal's approach when she was in Paris before breaking free) to Keith Jarrett to younger artists like the 21st Century keyboard sensation Hiromi of Place to Be whom he taught at Berklee. Like octogenarian virtuosos Artur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, and Hank Jones, Mr Jamal is as intense and exciting as ever as he nears that magical age 80 threshold. His group has been a quartet since the addition of heavyweight percussion 'conguero' Manolo Badrena 20 years ago on Rossiter Road. Bassist James Cammack with his singing tone and newcomer Kenny Washington's protean drumming round out the group. "A QUIET TIME" is anything but quiet: I find this CD to be a swinging, inspiring jazz experience from beginning to end: chock full of Jamal compositions with abrupt shifting tempos, funky lines, pedal points and vamps, end-to-end arpeggios, explosive two-handed block chords, shimmering interludes, and one other thing he taught Miles Davis: the use of silence and space.

Ahmad Jamal is a virtuoso who plays all 88 keys of the piano, as indicated by the title of one of his earliest recordings "Count 'Em 88". From a hot new version of "Tranquility", to cooking burners like the multi-tempo "After JACL (Jazz At Lincoln Center)" and "Paris After Dark", to pure mellow swingers like Randy Weston's "Hi Fly" and Jamal's own "Flight to Russia", he is inventive and masterful. Ahmad Jamal has always been one of jazz's premier balladeers and ballads like the complex beauty of "A Quiet Time", "The Blossoming Flower", the waltz "The Love is Lost", and "I Hear A Rhapsody" show how much depth of feeling and beauty this artist can give to a ballad, as he has shown since his beautiful, towering performance of "Maryam" over 60 years ago (which is now available on the Complete Recordings CD). This is Ahmad Jamal unleashing the virtuosity and wisdom of the years on this CD, which gets better with each listening session. May Mr Jamal continue to play far into the future. My Highest Recommendation. Five JAZZY Stars! (This review is based on an iTunes Plus download: 11 tracks, over 64 minutes total time.) (Trivia: Ahmad Jamal helped pioneer the piano, bass, guitar format in jazz with Ray Crawford on guitar, and then became one of the earliest artists to use piano, bass, and drums, by adding drummer Walter Perkins on "Count 'Em 88". The question now is when will the DownBeat Hall of Fame come calling for one so worthy? ***Update: the legendary Ahmad Jamal was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 2011 via the Readers Poll: a well-served career achievement!***)

What a true JOY! to connect once again to the music I love and respect! I am 67 and grew up listening to great jazz. Ahmad Jamal was consistently one of my favorites! I studied jazz piano briefly with Wendell Hawkins back in 1963...what a trip! Keep playin man and know the pleasure in sound you provide to this loyal fan! and jazz lover.
Sincerely,
Richard

Seasoned and effortless Amad's compositions never come up short. This CD is another masterpiece and Mr. Jamal remains, a true jazz original. Thank God.

This CD has all the hallmarks that made Ahmad Jamal a Jazz giant.I saw a copy of this at the local library and burned it to my computer.Listened to it last night and today and what a joy!! Filled with inspiring and lethal playing on the keys, This is one Jazz CD that needs to be heard by all Jamal fans, So listen and spread the word that this cat is still playing his way into the hearts of his fans with lush and spirit filled compositions that warm the soul on any given evening...Play on my brother....Peace & Strength

A glass of wine, a fireplace, dim lights and you have the perfect picture in which to enjoy this music. Romance and love can happen after listening to this CD. True jazz at its finest!