Ahmad Jamal "The Awakening" is the album I'm reviewing today. Ghosthouse, I believe you are already familiar with this album; since it has such a high rating, I'm reviewing it for the rest of the aficionados.
According to "Sputnic Music", review by Tyler Fisher; if there was ever a man that never received the credit he deserved, that man was Ahmad Jamal. Jamal played jazz piano differently from everyone else. He had the classical chops to play all over the place and use his jazz knowledge to run across the piano with all kinds of different scales, but Jamal was smarter than that. He knew that 32nd note runs for 8 minutes straight would get boring and tiring. He used space and silence so well that it inspired much of Miles Davis’ playing. However, the world gives Davis the credit for revolutionizing that style of playing. The general public doesn’t even list Jamal in the top ten jazz pianists of all time. Obviously, that means nothing to Jamal, as displayed in his track title I Love Music. That’s really all that matters, and that mindset shines through brilliantly on The Awakening.
To know a musician, is to know and love his music; if you know a musician, and idolize his music, it's a good start to a friendship. A musician and his music are one; although that sounds like a simple statement, it takes an aficionado to understand the depth of that statement.
It's time to listen to some music; lets begin with the title tune, "The Awakening", this is "classic" Ahmad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az5bBFWAI8I
Lets go with "Stolen Moments" from that same album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=274HuIch2GY
There you have it, now I'll wait for your take on this album.
Enjoy the music.