Ahmad Jamal Trio - The Awakening (2023 Impulse! Gatefold LP, Third Man Pressing)

Ahmad Jamal Trio - The Awakening | Vinyl LP - 2023 Verve By Request 180g Gatefold (B0036678-01, East Iris Studios mastering, Third Man Pressing)

Ahmad Jamal had been recording since the early 1950s, but by 1970 his approach had shifted — denser, more rhythmically varied, still centred on space and contrast but now more willing to push into harder territory. The Awakening was his first album for Impulse! and the record that brought him to a new generation of listeners, particularly through the title track's percussive vamp, which has been one of the most sampled pieces in jazz. Ed Michel produced; George Sawtelle engineered. Jamil Nasser on bass and Frank Gant on drums had been Jamal's working partners for years, and the ease between them is the record's foundation.

Seven tracks, recorded across two sessions. Two are Jamal originals — "The Awakening" and "Patterns." "I Love Music" comes from Emil Boyd and Hale Smith. Side B covers four compositions: Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance" from Maiden Voyage (1965), the 1931 Harry Warren standard "You're My Everything," Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" from Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961), and Jobim's "Wave" (1967). Leonard Feather wrote the liner notes; Chuck Stewart photographed the cover.

Considered essential in both jazz and hip-hop collector circles — the title track and other tracks have been sampled extensively, this is the first proper reissue of the album in over twenty-five years. Mastered at East Iris Studios in Nashville, pressed on 180g vinyl at Third Man Pressing in Detroit, and packaged in a gatefold. It was released on April 14, 2023. Jamal died on April 16, 2023.