Ahmad Jamal: Live in Paris (1971)

The pianist Ahmad Jamal, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 92, needs no introduction. Suffice it to say that this NEA Jazz Master and Lifetime Grammy Award recipient was one of the most popular pianists, small group leaders and hit recording artists of his time. One might be forgiven for thinking everything was known about Jamal, given his extensive discography. Happily, however, Transversales Disques continues its excellent series of "Lost ORTF Recordings" with this release, recorded live in the Grand Auditorium Studio 104 of the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française's Maison de la Radio on June 25, 1971.

This trio—featuring Jamil Sulieman Nasser on bass and Frank Gant on drums—recorded for ABC/Impulse! at the time, and each of these songs also appears on contemporaneous live albums released by that label. The ORTF recording opens with Richard Evans' "Bogota," first recorded by Jamal in 1963. It is given a declamatory introduction on the acoustic piano by the leader before Gant opens up a driving 6/8 rhythm on which the band takes a long, modal ride. Nasser solos effectively and Jamal switches to the Fender Rhodes, utilizing its floating, bell-like tone to great effect before bringing back the main riff on piano for further development. Next up is the Jamal original "Manhattan Reflections." A catchy piano riff is stated, traded off to the bass and back again several times, and then further developed over a jittery beat by Gant. The way Jamal and Nasser are perfectly in sync in their conversation here bespeaks how tight this trio had become after a couple of years of intensive work together. This all-too-brief album closes with a sprawling take on McCoy Tyner's "Effendi" (first released on Tyner's own Impulse! debut, Inception, in 1962), highlighted by a brief and tasteful drum solo and a longer exploratory solo by Nasser during which a cheeky quote of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" elicits laughter from the clued-in studio audience. Jamal again moves to the Rhodes to ride out the tune, introducing some of those dense electric piano clusters that defined the fusion of the period.

The vinyl LP (or digital release) features only these three performances of 10-15 minutes each, which the credits indicate are "excerpts from the full performance." It is truly a shame that the entire recording could not be presented here, as the band delivers an exploratory, swinging set and the resonant studio sound is outstanding. Highly enjoyable, and a great companion to the Ahmad Jamal Trio's contemporaneous Impulse! releases.