First Impressions - Live in Paris 2LP

This set catches the Ahmad Jamal Trio at Studio 104 inside Paris's Maison de la Radio on June 25, 1971, a tape the French broadcaster ORTF cut and the INA archive held onto for decades before Elemental Music finally pulled it out. Jamal built his reputation on space and dynamics as much as notes, and that approach is all over readings of "Bogotá" and "Effendi" here. The set closes on an encore of "Poinciana," his signature tune, the clearest evidence on the record of why he mattered.