Ahmad Jamal Trio is Ahmad Jamal on piano, Jamie Nasser on bass and the monster Frank Gant on drums. On what is perhaps the finest post-bop, pre-fusion jazz session of all time, the trio tear through standards by Herbie Hancock (“Dolphin Dance”) and Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Wave”), a few of Jamal’s own compositions (“The Awakening”, “Patterns”), and a roaring rendition of Emil Boyd and Hale Smith’s “I Love Music”. Having been sampled on certified classics by Nas, Common, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Gang Starr and Jeru The Damaja, and more recently on Steven Julien a.k.a. Funkineven’s “XL”, The Awakening is revered in hip-hop and jazz circles alike. Original copies (even 1986 reissues) are outrageously impossible to find; probably because every golden era NY hip-hop producer bought them all up in the 90s, locked them in a bunker buried 2,000 feet below Queensbridge and threw away the key. Luckily for me (and you), the music lovers at Be With Records present this 180g issue with original liner notes in a gatefold sleeve that faithfully represents the iconic original sleeve artwork. Recommended.

• heavyweight 180 gram reissue
• luxurious gatefold sleeve w/ iconic cover art
• original sleeve notes
• mastered by Simon Francis
• music label: Be With Records 2017 / Import

reviewed by nick nightingale 03/2017