“Poinciana”: Keith Jarrett Trio

After hearing American jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal (1930-2023) deliver a refined, minimalist performance of the Latin standard, Poinciana, Keith Jarrett remarked, This is swinging more than anything I’ve been listening to, but they’re doing less. What’s the secret here? A similar effortless cool groove emerges in a performance of Poinciana featuring the Keith Jarrett Trio, recorded at the Palais des congrès de Paris on July 5, 1999. The concert can be …

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Remembering Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal, the American jazz pianist, composer, and band leader, passed away on April 16. He was 92. Known for a taut, minimalist style, Jamal broke new ground in modern jazz. Miles Davis once said, “All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal…[He] knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, and the way he phrases notes and chords and passages.” Born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Jamal began playing …

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