Jazz Articles about Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal: Nature: The Essence Part III

by Douglas Payne
August 1, 1998

As pianist Ahmad Jamal points out in his own notes to Nature, he's recorded prolifically outside the trios for which he has become known (check out, for example, his new one on Roesch with the Assai Quartet). But what makes Nature even more unusual is Jamal's addition of steel drums. Don't look for a set of kitschy Caribbean tunes though. Othello Molineaux plays his steel drums more like a vibraphonist, as if he understands bop much more than island music. ...