JAZZING WITH JAMAL

Simple pleasures are often the most fun.

One of mine is music. Others include the Anna Maria beach upon which, in solitude, I have both walked and prayed late at night. The sounds of the waves can be incredibly soothing.

Another pleasure is writing this blog. It gives me an opportunity to share various parts of my life and beliefs as well as the chance to deliver some cautionary messages.

Today, let's concentrate on music - specifically the piano style of Ahmad Jamal, who grew up early on in Pittsburgh a/k/a Fritzy Jones.

I run hot and cold on listening steadily to either jazz or classical music. Both styles are in ample supply in every nook and cranny I can find to store same in our modest home. I call it "Music on Demand".

Our early decision to close in and extend our lanaii another ten feet resulted in one of the best acoustically friendly rooms in which to listen to great music.

I chose to pass on purchasing some of the more sophisticated music components out there today. I continue to rely on my ancient Sansui receiver, a couple of large (34 x 17") Advent floor speakers and a crisp Sony CD player.

In the back room - a less musically friendly location, I augment the above components via a remote switch with a couple of midsized Bose bookshelf speakers that are wired into the Sansui and mounted above eye level on a couple of storage cabinets.

This operation allows us to fulfill our desire to listen to music in a more humble manner as we sit on our small back porch or work in the yard.

I am indeed a music buff. On one of the coldest nights in Harrisburg history, Brother Jim agreed to work with me to pre-wire my three story home, crossing beams, and climbing rickety hand built ladders,in order to beat the builder who was about to start insulating same the next day. The result was an access to music in just about every room of the house.

Listening to music - particularly jazz - requires good speakers - often referred to as "usually the weakest link in your sound system".

By dint of the equipment combination above we are able to actually hear the subtle brushes of the drummer and the soft spoken melodic cleverness of an experienced bassist - electric or acoustic. We favor the latter.

My interest in jazz may have begun with my attendance at Grove City College in 1955 when Errol Garners group was performing live many of the tunes on his just released classic album "Concert By The Sea".

It was further intensified by my introduction to the various time changes of Brubeck via a guy who lived at the end of my dorm hall - and had a penchant for playing his records at top decibel volume.

This morning I was in a light classical mood. That was until our dog Bella loudly protested the opening strains from what I always thought was a great early morning mood setter - a classical collection entitled "Teatime with Tchaikovsky".

The Chihuahua strongly disagreed.

So, the music was switched to a CD on Chess records (GRD-803) entitled "Ahmads Blues" - a collection originally recorded on analog tape that was re-stored and slightly upgraded from the Ahmad Jamal's Trio 1958 appearance at the Spotlite Club in D.C.

The producers, who included musical genius Dave Grusin, wisely opted to retain the music order of the 16 songs included in the original two set performance.

Here, Ahmad's incredibly inventive piano style is strengthened by his two sidemen, Israel Crosby, once a a bass player with Fletcher Henderson, as well as the amazing drummer, Vernel Fournier, who was part of a Teddy Wilson group before joining Jamal.

Some folks find only smooth jazz to be pleasureable.

So, an early warning. Jamal may not be for everyone - particularly those that embrace only the tangential jazz sound. Ahmad has been known to stretch the box a little at times and can sound repetetive.

However, he follows a very simple principle - espoused by Dave Brubeck - who described one of the secrets of his success as: "If you state the melody in the first chorus, then people will allow you the freedom to improvise the melody."

Jamal is a master at this technique - using improvisations from other tunes - including even a few bars from the beginning of the last segment of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", a classical favorite.

My favorite version of the latter was at a 4th of July celebration on the Savannah Riverfront. The Savannah Orchestra's brilliant performance was magnified by the addition of both fireworks and cannons.

After first becoming a fan of the Jamal group, I would play various tunes from his fabulous album: "But Not For Me." in order to help a good friend of mine, Larry Kosanovich. Larry was just starting his jazz education and was anxious to learn more about the music form.

The object of our game was for Larry to listen - much like a "Name That Tune" contestant - in order to see how long it would take for him to correctly identify the standard that Jamal was improvising.

Larry was a "quick study" - as it was not always a simple task.

I enjoy sharing my favorite jazz tunes and performers. I introduced Brother Tom to the Ramsey Lewis Trio at The Crawford Grill, up in Pittsburgh's Hill district. We also travelled to Manhattan where we took in a couple of Buddy Greco sets at the old Basin Street East club

Tom's interest in jazz really took off and may have even become a little more adventurous than my own.

Chess records incorporated on CD much of Jamal's "But Not For Me", recorded at the Pershing. The album was on the top jazz list for about 107 weeks. The Chess CD is entitled "Ahmad Jamal At His Very Best"" (PCD-2-1244), and added a few songs from other performances.

Included in this collection are some of Jamal's "Greatest Hits" featuring "Night Mist Blues", "Surrey With The Fringe On Top", "Poinciana", "Like Someone In Love" and the album title tune.

If you're not already a "true" jazz fan, but enjoy a pleasurable but at first challenging jazz version of America's standards, you may wish to give both CD's a listen.

Now the cautionary note. Like walking and praying on a beach it's often best done in solitude.