First Impressions: Live In Paris 1971 [LP]

Ahmad Jamal - First Impressions: Live In Paris 1971 [LP]

Ahmad Jamal used space and silence on the piano with real intent, and few jazz players have matched him at it. By 1971 his standing was already secure. Miles Davis wrote in his autobiography that "all my inspiration comes from Jamal," and the trio records Jamal cut at Chicago's Pershing Lounge in 1958 were among the best-selling jazz albums of their time.

First Impressions is a concert Jamal played on June 25, 1971, in Studio 104 at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, the home of the Orchestre National de France. It was recorded for French radio and television (ORTF), and the tapes sat in the INA archive for more than fifty years before this official release. Jamal plays acoustic and electric piano with his working trio of Jamil Nasser on bass and Frank Gant on drums. The set runs through long, open versions of "Bogotá," "Effendi" and "Manhattan Reflections," and ends with "Poinciana," his signature tune, as the encore.

Zev Feldman produced the release for Elemental Music. It comes with new liner notes by jazz writer Eugene Holley, Jr. and period photographs by Jean-Pierre Leloir.

Track Listing:

Bogotá
Effendi
Extensions
Manhattan Reflections
Poinciana (Encore)