Jamal, Ahmad: Ahmad Jamal '73 (Verve Vault series, 180g) [VERVE]

Why you'll love it

A 1973 curveball from Ahmad Jamal: he plays only Fender Rhodes, over orchestral arrangements by Richard Evans, through funk versions of War's "The World Is A Ghetto" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". This Verve Vault edition is mastered from the original tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

This edition

• Verve Vault series
• 180g, all-analogue
• Mastered from the original tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
• Pressed at Optimal in Germany
• Packaging modelled on the original LP

About the album

Originally on 20th Century, Ahmad Jamal '73 found the master of space and restraint swapping his piano for electric keys and letting Evans, who co-produced, paint big, string-laden settings around him. "Sustah, Sustah" and "Peace At Last" are the deep, funky heart of it.

The Verve Vault treatment gives it a pressing to match the arrangements. The groove was always there; now you can hear the strings breathe.

Also at Kops: more Jazz

Tracklist

On Verve, a reissue of the 1973 album.