Ahmad Jamal is still creating tremendous music in eir eighth decade on this earth. I feel that the tracks on Blue Moon allow Jamal to come back to eir roots. In doing so, I believe that the recordings are much more polished than these initial efforts, and represent a considerable evolution from all other stages in eir career.
Autumn Rain immediately throws listeners into the fray, the seven minute runtime more than ample for Jamal to build a germ of an idea and see it to fruition. Arrangements are built up, changed, and spun out with a blindingly-sharp focus. As the tracks continue to creep up in time, I feel that Jamal’s work showcases ever more complex arrangements. Gypsy, the disc’s runt at 5 minutes, does not feel unfinished; Jamal is able to spin things to a close early with a sharpness of form that other musicians would kill for. Make sure to pick up a copy of Blue Moon from your local independent music record store at your earliest convenience.
Top Tracks: I Remember Italy, Autumn Rain
Rating: 8.9/10
Ahmad Jamal – Blue Moon (CD) / 2012 World Village / 9 Tracks / http://www.ahmadjamal.net
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
Beats: Independent Music, PC Gaming & Peripherals, Consumer Tech, Webmaster Tools
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