Ahmad Jamal – Collector’s Edition (CD + DVD) – Jazz Village

by | Apr 15, 2013 | CD+DVD

Ahmad Jamal – Collector’s Edition (CD + DVD) – Jazz Village JV 570024.25 (DVD: 16:9 & 60 min.) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****:

This double album pairs the CD we have already reviewed with a video shot just last year in Paris at The Olympia. The selection titles are similar to the CD. This is a fine way to see the 81-year-old jazz great at his best, mixing colorful runs up and down the keyboard with little hints of the tunes thrown in here and there. His expanded rhythm section really goes to work on some of the more rhythmic tune arrangements. The track “Blue Moon” pushes the minimalist thing with a ten-minute repetition of a rhythmic figure, but Jamal makes it work.

The videography is up to modern standards, with excellent closeups and a variety of shots that make watching the master at work totally enjoyable. See the CD review for details.

—John Henry

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