IoS Sounds of 2013: Jazz

 

Phil Johnson
Sunday 06 January 2013 01:00 GMT
Comments
Jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal
Jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

There are not many artists who reignite their careers in their ninth decade, but the Pittsburgh-born pianist Ahmad Jamal, who comes to London's Barbican on 8 February, is really on a roll, at 82. The knockout title track from his latest album, Blue Moon, has been nominated for a Grammy and his London performance will be a showcase for the disc

In many ways, Jamal has been overlooked by jazz history – the one big story is that Miles Davis said he was influenced by him – but he was a huge star in black America, and his many LPs for Chess subsidiaries Argo and Cadet – such as the killer Live at the Pershing – still fill the racks of US record shops.

Ironically, it's through a return to vinyl that current jazz releases in the UK are finding a new popularity, with sales of LPs offering a rare sign of growth. Starting in February, the leading UK indie, Edition Records, releases its first LP, Kenny Wheeler's Mirrors, on 180g vinyl, with an LP edition of Marius Neset's new album, Birds, to follow, accompanied by selected reissues from the company's archive.

February also sees the release of a beautiful seven-LP box-set of Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen's recordings for the Rune Grammofon label, complete with bonus tracks and his brand new album, Chron.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in