Ahmad Jamal's early recording career is given a reasonably in-depth survey on this 18-track, 72-minute collection of material from 1951-1955. The earliest four of these tracks feature him at the head of a trio with guitarist
Ray Crawford and bassist
Eddie Calhoun, but the remainder of the set (all recorded in 1955) were cut by the lineup with
Jamal,
Crawford, and bassist
Israel Crosby. It might be tamer and more conventional than
Jamal's later material, particularly due to the absence of drums (though there are plenty of popping percussion punctuations). It's still highly respectable early cool jazz, with the accent on covers of standards, though there are a few
Jamal originals sprinkled in (including one of his most renowned early compositions, the funky "Ahmad's Blues"). Too, this has his interpretation of "Pavanne," which was likely influential on both
Miles Davis' "So What" and
John Coltrane's "Impressions." Throughout, it's easy to hear why
Davis considered
Jamal an important musician, as
Jamal's style -- swinging, but with a certain amount of clean intellectual precision -- bore obvious connections to the cool jazz
Davis and other musicians were also innovating at the time. The liner notes are threadbare, but at least the track listings include personnel details and recording dates.