Ahmad Jamal doesn't believe he's got chops....even now almost 50 years after he first hit the scene with his marvelous drummerless trios of the 50s, Jamal still believes he's a poor piano player. Good thing none of the rest of us believe him!

In the 1950s Jamal was famous for his initial piano trios which featured bass and guitar rather than drums. His concept was fresh and original, featuring lots of open space and understated grooves. Sometimes considered cocktail music by the critics, musicians knew better. In fact, Miles Davis, a musician never known to give much credit to others, credited Jamal as the inspiration of Miles' first classic style with the 1950s quintets and sextets. As the years have gone on, Jamal's style has changed. Though space has always remained a feature, his technique has become more sure and his pianistic textures much more adventurous.

Live in Paris is a document from a live concert at La Salle de Spectacles de Colombes in 1992. Most of the disc features a trio of James Cammack on fretless bass and David Bowler on drums, except for the track Dreamy which features a different rhythm section. The music is impeccably arranged as is common for all of Jamal's trio work. The presence of the fretless bass allows for a contemporary funky edge to the sound and pieces like the Tube and Caravan end up with heavy grooves in unusual meters. Jamal is amazing on the disc, from funky modal solos over one chord vamps to lush romantic piano harmony, he shows himself a master of the instrument. This is a disc to make the rest of us who play jazz piano want to go home and slit our wrists. Jamal's technique, artistry and feel for the idiom and instrument are unsurpassed.

This is amoung the pianist's great discs along with the classics from the 50's like Poinciana. If you don't know Ahmad, get to know him PDQ. This disc is a marvelous place to start.

In Memory of Bob Zeidler - who would have loved that this wasn't a "free jazz" review!
Chris Forbes