The Awakening (Ahmad Jamal album)
| The Awakening | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Recorded | February 2–3, 1970 | |||
| Genre | Cool jazz, post-bop | |||
| Length | 40:34 | |||
| Label | Impulse! | |||
| Producer | Ed Michel | |||
| Ahmad Jamal chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Awakening is an album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal featuring performances recorded in 1970 for the Impulse! label.[1]
Production
[edit]The album was recorded at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City on February 2 and 3, 1970.[2] It was produced by Ed Michel, whose production credits also include jazz and blues artists such as John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, John Coltrane, and Alice Coltrane.[3] The liner notes were written by jazz historian Leonard Feather.[4]
Critical reception
[edit]The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "By 1970, pianist Ahmad Jamal's style had changed a bit since the 1950s, becoming denser and more adventurous while still retaining his musical identity... Intriguing performances showing that Ahmad Jamal was continuing to evolve".[2]
Writing in Pitchfork, Michael J. Agovino writes that the album "is a fine example of Jamal’s stately—and understated—elegance punctuated with doodles of whimsy".[5]
Retrospectively, the album has had an influence in Hip hop music culture and production, with artists such as Nas and Common sampling tracks from the album for their work.[6][7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Pitchfork | (8.0/10)[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [8] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [9] |
Track listing
[edit]- "The Awakening" (Ahmad Jamal) – 6:19
- "I Love Music" (Emil Boyd, Hale Smith) – 7:19
- "Patterns" (Ahmad Jamal) – 6:19
- "Dolphin Dance" (Herbie Hancock) – 5:05
- "You're My Everything" (Harry Warren, Joe Young, Mort Dixon) – 4:40
- "Stolen Moments" (Oliver Nelson) – 6:27
- "Wave" (Antônio Carlos Jobim) – 4:25
Personnel
[edit]Charts
[edit]| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] | 187 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 42 |
References
[edit]- ^ Impulse! Records discography accessed April 14, 2011
- ^ a b c Yanow, Scott (n.d.). "Ahmad Jamal Trio / Ahmad Jamal: The Awakening". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Ed Michel: Credits". AllMusic. n.d. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Ahmad Jamal (1970). The Awakening (LP). Impulse. OCLC 5794763. AS-9194.
- ^ a b Agovino, Michael J. (April 3, 2017). "Ahmad Jamal: The Awakening". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Jazz Night in America (2017-04-19), "Jazz is the mother of hip-hop" | JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA, retrieved 2017-07-02
- ^ Nas – The World Is Yours, retrieved 2017-07-02
- ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. New York: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 111. ISBN 9780394726434. LCCN 84-42510.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 761. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – The Ahmad Jamal Trio – The Awakening" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Ahmad Jamal Trio – The Awakening" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
