Long time since the last post, back at university for a new year, and a few weeks of pericarditis which is not fun, but here we are ...
This was another album that I wanted to track down after the Electric Jamal post that accompanied the album "Steppin Out With a Dream" a few months back, so here's a nice clean vinyl rip for blogland.
By the time of this, his final album for 20th Century Records, Ahmad Jamal seemed to want to pull away from the dense orchestrations and electric stylings of earlier albums for the label like "Ahmad Jamal '73" and "Jamalca" - he's on his way back to the acoustic piano and smaller group work. You can see that transition taking place on this sometimes uneven album, his last to include the rhodes as an instrument.
'Boatride'
The best rhodes work is on the stepper "Boatride", where he's developed a flowing yet precise electric piano style that's markedly different from the pounding acoustic piano style that he pursues on "The Tube", a frenetic conga-laden piece that I also like.
'The Tube'
On "You're Welcome, Stop On By" he returns to his "Outertimeinnerspace" and "Freeflight" - era voicing method, where he establishes flowing chord textures on the rhodes before turning to acoustic piano for the more dynamic solos and melodic statement.
'You're Welcome, Stop On By'
Elsewhere he's working with smaller groups, on tracks like "Jordie" and a great version of "So In Love", on which he's just accompanied by acoustic bass. The album is called a "compilation" on the cover, which it's actually not (I've checked, you know what I'm like) - but it's certainly a compilation of quite different ideas and sessions. Half the album's produced by Paul Gayten, and the other half by Fifth-Dimension svengali Bones Howe, who's also the subject of one of the lesser tracks, "Bones".
Strangely, there's a faded-in "excerpt" of "My One and Only Love", which in its short duration recalls the fuller version on the Gayten-produced "Steppin Out With a Dream". The sheer clumsiness of the editing suggests, perhaps, some dissatisfaction with the record company and/or the sessions. The only real stinker is the inappropriately-named "Reggae", a confused slight calypso which seems to pass the baton to each musician in turn in search of some sort of inspiration or swing.
In the end it's a 50-50 effort, with a couple of great funky tracks and Jamal relishing his return to the piano, on which he's always superb. Hope you enjoy this one!
TRACKLIST
01. 'You're Welcome, Stop On By' - (Womack- Thomas) - 5:48
02. 'Jordie' - (Jamal) - 3:49
03. 'So In Love' - (Cole Porter) - 3:39
04. 'Reggae' - (Jamal) - 3:47
05. 'Boatride' - (Jamal) - 5:09
06. 'Excerpt From "My One And Only Love" ' - (Mellin-Wood) - 2:09
07. 'The Tube' - (Jamal) - 4:14
08. 'Bones' - (Jamal) - 6:20
MUSICIANS
A total mystery ! Not named on the cover, not noted in Jean Prince's otherwise meticulous discography. Ahmad Jamal on keyboards; plus bass, drums, occasional brass section and guitar.
PRODUCTION
Label - 20th Century Records
Catalogue number - T-622
Producer - Bones Howe (tracks: 1, 2, 7, 8)
Producer -Paul Gayten (tracks: 4, 5, 6)
Producer - Ahmad Jamal (track 3)
Compilation Producer - Michael Stewart
Mastered By - Mike Reese
Mixed By - Barney Perkins
Cover Painting - Joan Swanson
Design - Roland Young
Edited at Sierra Pacific, Los Angeles
Mixed at Golden Sound, LA
Mastered at the Mastering Lab
AHMAD JAMAL DISCOGRAPHY
in this post
AHMAD JAMAL DISCOGRAPHY
Vinyl rip by Simon666
Other albums linked in this post are at My Jazz World. Please say thanks if you go there.