Ahmad Jamal – Ahmad Jamal '73 (Verve Vault Series)

Ahmad Jamal's Ahmad Jamal '73 catches a real turning point in his catalogue: the 1973 album was the first of seven studio records he made for 20th Century, and it also finds one of jazz's great small-group pianists moving to electric piano for a full studio set. That change matters here. Rather than simply updating his sound, Jamal uses the instrument to meet early-70s soul and funk on its own terms, while keeping the clarity and control that defined his earlier work.

Co-produced with Richard Evans, who also arranged and conducted the larger ensemble, the album expands far beyond the lean trio format many listeners associate with Jamal. Strings, horns and vocals give these performances a broader, more orchestrated feel, especially on versions of Stevie Wonder's Superstition and War's The World Is a Ghetto. Alongside those contemporary covers, pieces such as Sustah, Sustah and Peace at Last show how naturally Jamal could fold spiritual jazz and funk textures into his playing without losing his sense of space.

This Verve Vault edition makes the album's return to vinyl especially worthwhile, presenting a less familiar but revealing chapter in Jamal's discography: not a side note, but a sharp snapshot of how a major jazz stylist responded to the musical climate of the early 1970s.

Features

• 180g, Stereo, Verve Vault Series
• Cut from the original analog tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
• Pressed at Optimal