11. Ahmad JamalAt The Perishing: But Not For Me
That was another LP I played a lot in my younger years. This came out in 1958. I especially like his version of “Poinciana”. This was a very impressive album indeed for me, a model of what piano playing could be. But it’s very daring also, in its way – his very name, which at the time seemed very exotic.
It’s non-jarring, it doesn’t vie for attention, it’s very spare. You can sit down to a nice little dinner listening to Ahmad Jamal. Erik Satie had the idea of making music you could sit down and eat your dinner to. But there’s a difference between this sort of music and muzak. Muzak sits there, like wallpaper and doesn’t impinge on your experience. Music like this does, even if you’re just tapping your toe to it. There’s a rapport in this piano trio that’s very positive and celebratory.
