
Ballades (Jazz Village/[PIAS])
Ahmad Jamal
Released September 13, 2019
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n9wA3Qd4kiHBpfcmjs-hdo0B8nngF_Y1M
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7hqV3IfGubzhlke2PtmFQg?si=669ANhQVSHmVhAnDfd7f3w
About:
At the age of 88, composer and legendary jazz musician Ahmad Jamal presents Ballades, an album that sees him returning to his roots in a transcendent journey. Jamal comes from the closely-knit club of the great masters of jazz. That is why, in the manner of Coltrane and Miles, he goes back to his past as a way to see the future in a new way. At its heart, Ballades is a solo piano album – something Jamal has never done before (double-bass player James Cammack is featured on three tracks). The music is art in its purest form, ranging from the iconic “Poinciana” to the symbolic “Marseille.” Ballades is a new masterpiece in this artist’s long and distinguished career.
Track Listing:
1. Marseille (Ahmad Jamal) 04:55
2. Because I Love You (Ahmad Jamal) 05:59
3. I Should Care (Sammy Cahn / Axel Stordahl / Paul Weston) 03:24
4. Poinciana (Buddy Bernier / Nat Simon) 04:28
5. Land of Dreams (Norman Gimbel / Eddie Heywood) 02:15
6. What’s New (Johnny Burke / Bob Haggart) 04:52
7. So Rare (Jerry Herst / Jack Sharpe) 03:04
8. Whisperings (Ahmad Jamal) 03:29
9. Spring Is Here/Your Story (Bill Evans / Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers) 05:00
10. Emily (Johnny Mandel / Johnny Mercer) 04:20
Personnel:
Ahmad Jamal: piano
James Cammack: bass (1, 7, 9)
Recorded July, 2016, at Studio Sextan, Malakoff, France
Produced by Ahmad Jamal, Catherine Vallon-Barry and Seydou Barry
Recorded and Mixed by Vincent Mahey
Mastered by Raphaël Jonin
Photography by Studio Harcourt
Artwork: Yannick LeVaillant
Executive-Producers: Pascal Bussy, Seydou Barry
Review:
Next year, Ahmad Jamal will celebrate his 90th birthday, one of just a handful of performers on this earth who belong to the great society of artists that ushered in the age of modern jazz. Genius ages well, and even at this late stage of his career, Jamal presents us with something new: Ballades, an album of mostly solo piano pieces that display his absolute command of the keyboard. Absent a percussive time-keeper, and only accompanied on three tracks by a bassist, Jamal freely explores classics like “I Should Care,” “Spring Is Here,” “Emily” and “What’s New.” He decorates those beautiful melodies with surprising textural and dynamic contrasts, always with impeccable harmonic sophistication; he sometimes interrupts himself with sparkling flourishes or an astonishing barrage of modulating block chords. Often, he moves out of the form with his trademark, bass-driven vamps, evoking the same hypnotic reverie that was a beloved feature of his erstwhile trio days. In addition to the standard tunes, there are a number of original pieces that exhibit Jamal’s compositional acumen, including a reprise of the title track from his previous album, “Marseille.” It’s a gorgeous melody with a surprising bridge that easily could be included in the jazz canon. Tucked into the middle of the album is a special treat, a solo rendition of Nat Simon’s “Poinciana,” immortalized by Jamal’s trio arrangement from the hallowed 1958 At The Pershing: But Not For Me. Here, it’s stripped down, dark with nostalgia, poignant and powerful. Ballades places a gentle exclamation point on Jamal’s lengthy and brilliant career, a modern classic from a classic modernist.
Gary Fukushima (DownBeat)