MINT

Ahmad Jamal is a jazz giant and The Awakening is his iconic masterpiece. The landmark deep trio session - recorded in NYC and released on Impulse! in 1970 - is an essential album and perennially sought-after on vinyl, so Be With Records are delighted to make it available again.As a "Zen master of jazz piano" and one of its greatest innovators, Jamal evolved his elegant sound with this adventurous record. The Awakening showcased his fast, richly melodic chops in remarkable variation. A consummate orchestrator of his own complex arrangements, Jamal was emboldened here by his potent sidemen. Backed by the exquisite timing of bassist Jamil Nasser and the precision of Frank Gant's drumming, he was liberated by the reliability of the trio setup. Free to juggle rhythmic dexterity with harmonic intricacy, Jamal brilliantly performed groove-oriented compositions written by himself, alongside wonderful renditions of tracks by Herbie Hancock, Oliver Nelson and Antonio Carlos Jobim.It is impossible to discuss The Awakening without acknowledging its indelible mark on golden age rap. A defining album of hip-hop culture, producers of the highest calibre have famously sampled elements of this timeless record to lace all-timers with a foundation for their most legendary tracks. Indeed, both the experimental "DJ Premier In Deep Concentration" and Shadez Of Brooklyn's seminal "Change" utilised Jamal's sparse title-track to stunning effect.A melancholy motif from "I Love Music" was employed by Pete Rock for Nas's crucial "The World Is Yours" whilst, over a more abstract refrain from the same track, Jeru memorably delivered his "Me Or The Papes" ultimatum. Over in Chicago, No I.D. elevated Common's peerless "Resurrection" by lifting a precise riff from Jamal's plaintive rendition of "Dolphin Dance" whilst the head-nod quality of All Natural's hypnotic "Renaissance" owes it all to the looped keys of Jamal's take on "You're My Everything".With bold beauty and unhurried grace, Ahmad Jamal plays piano differently from everyone else. He was a huge inspiration to Miles Davis and influential to how Wynton Kelly performed across Kind of Blue. In his autobiography, Miles describes being blown away by Jamal's dynamic "concept of space, his lightness of touch [and] his understatement". It's why The Awakening will always be so revered.In line with the quality of all Be With reissues, the record is presented in a luxurious gatefold sleeve and comes adorned with the original eye-catching artwork throughout, along with the original sleeve notes. Simon Francis' sensitive mastering ensures the sonics are majestic throughout and, for the first time, it has been pressed at a reassuringly weighty 180g.

Track 1 - Edit of Gilla - Help, Help! from 1976Track 2 - Edit of Jimi Hendrix - FreedomTrack 3 - Edit of Crown Heights Affair - You Gave Me Love / Use Your Body And Soul from 1980Track 4 - Refix of Kiki Gyan - Disco Dancer

Limited edition double pack. 250 released, 23 were signed by the artists. Recycled cardboard gatefold sleeve, spray-painted and stamped by hand, so each one is different. Records are dinked.Track 1 - Edit of Chuck Armstrong - Something Got A Hold On Me from 1979Track 2 - Edit of Gregory Jolly - I Want To Clap My Hand For The Power / What'Em Doing Is My Business from 1979Track 3 - Edit of Dr Dragon & the Oriental Express's “Dr Dragon's Theme” from 1977Track 4 - Sensational Luciano's edit of classic from 1977

Keyboardist Eddie Russ hailed from Pittsburg and played with many of the greats including Sarah Vaughn, Benny Golson, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. Eddie is somewhat of an enigma, but he has always been held in high regard in the UK, and he finally was able to perform here in London at the Jazz café in the early 90's a few years before his untimely demise.His debut album ‘Fresh Out’ was recorded for the Jazz Masters label and includes the jazz dance classic ‘The Lope Song’, he also contributed heavily to Sonny Stitt’s ‘Tornado’ album on that label. His band The Mixed Bag also made an album for the Detroit Tribe label. In 1976 he signed to John Richbourg’s Sound Stage 7 label and made two great jazz funk albums which were released on the Nashville’s Monument label and like his debut were produced by Bob Crawford.From this first album ‘See The Light’ the title track is a great take on the Earth Wind And Fire song, ‘Poko Nose’ is a great funky groove oriented track, but it is the magical ‘Zaius’ that has become an all time jazz funk classic, a track that has maintained its popularity over the past 40 years.The Monument albums include some great musicians including Marcus Belgrave and Larry Nozero, and on the “Take A Look At Yourself” album Motown’s Eddie Willis, a very young Kenny Garrett and the funk group Quazar.

Keyboardist Eddie Russ hailed from Pittsburg and played with many of the greats including Sarah Vaughn, Benny Golson, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. Eddie is somewhat of an enigma, but he has always been held in high regard in the UK, and he finally was able to perform here in London at the Jazz café in the early 90’s a few years before his untimely demise.His debut album ‘Fresh Out’ was recorded for the Jazz Masters label and includes the jazz dance classic ‘The Lope Song’, he also contributed heavily to Sonny Stitt’s ‘Tornado’ album on that label. His band The Mixed Bag also made an album for the Detroit Tribe label. In 1976 he signed to John Richbourg’s Sound Stage 7 label and made two great jazz funk albums which were released on the Nashville’s Monument label and like his debut were produced by Bob Crawford.From the 1978 album ‘Take A Look At Yourself’ the title track is a monster percussive jazz funker on which Eddie’s keyboards really shine through and Jackie Holiday’s soulful vocals really top it off. She also does a great job of the Emotions ‘Don’t Ask My Neighbours’, and Renee Coles adds her vocals to the infectious rare groove version of Quincy Jones ‘I Heard That’ .The Monument albums include some great musicians including on this album Motown’s Eddie Willis, a very young Kenny Garrett and the funk group Quazar.