The Early Ahmad Jamal Recordings

[Shrdlu]

Readers might appreciate a listing of Ahmad Jamal's early recordings. Discographical information is not easy to find online, and the recordings are not all easy to find without fake stereo reverb. As I recall, I got some of these tracks from LPs. These are the recordings with Ray Crawford on guitar, before Vernel Fournier replaced him on drums. I like both configurations of the trio. The Mosaic set blurb claimed that its content (the trio from 1958 onward, with Vernel) heavily influenced Miles Davis, but the 1958 and onward recordings were after the event.  The recordings from 1951 to 1955, which I am about to list, were the influential ones. 1957's "Miles Ahead" took a lot from the May 23, 1955 Parrot LP, whose contents were later reissued by Argo. The Mosaic set, which has excellent music, of course, is not needed: all of its tracks are available on individual CDs in scattered order.

 

Ahmad Jamal (p), Ray Crawford (g), Eddie Calhoun (b)

Columbia Studio, Chicago, IL, October 25, 1951

1. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top

2. Will You Still be Mine

3. Rica Pulpa

4. Perfidia

 

Same personnel

Columbia Studio, Chicago, IL, May 5, 1952

1. Aki And Ukthay

2. Billy Boy

3. Ahmad's Blues

4. A Gal in Calico

 

Ahmad Jamal (p), Ray Crawford (g), Israel Crosby (b).

Parrot (Breezville) Recording Company, Chicago, IL, May 23, 1955

1. New Rhumba

2. A Foggy Day

3. All Of You

4. It Ain't Necessarily So

5. I Don't Wanna Be Kissed By Anyone But You / The Alphabet Song

6. I  Get A Kick Out Of You

7. Jeff

8. Darn That Dream

9. Spring Is Here

 

Same personnel

Columbia 30th Street Studio, NYC, October 25, 1955

 1. Slaughter On 10th Avenue

 2. Old Devil Moon

 3. Black Beauty

 4. Don't Blame Me

 5. Autumn Leaves

 6. Crazy, He Calls Me

 7. They Can't Take That Away From Me

 8. It's Easy To Remember

 9. Squeeze Me

10. Something To Remember You By

11. Poinciana

12. The Donkey Serenade

13. Love For Sale

14. Pavanne

[mikeweil]

Your list is not complete. I will publish a complete discography of the trios with Ray Crawford until the end of the year and link it here.

The trio with Vernel Fournier is a totally different affair, and much of the content in the Mosaic box was and is hard to find. 

[JSngry]

This is part of an incredibly invaluable resource: http://campber.people.clemson.edu/parrot.html

A beautiful cover!

[Chuck Nessa]

Here is an easy start - 30 tracks:

[Shrdlu]

I can now add to my listing at the start of the thread.

The following very lengthy article  has a lot of information about the Parrot label

https://campber.people.clemson.edu/parrot.html

They issued a lot of singles, some in 78 format, and others as 45s. Among them are two singles by Ahmad Jamal, with Richard Davis on bass and Ray Crawford on guitar. A fifth track was recorded, but not issued.

Some kind souls have uploaded these two singles (both sides) to Youtube

"But Not For Me"/"Seleritus"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk9rCemgHmY

and "Excerpts From the Blues"/"It Could Happen To You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySgFnPAon34

I was surprised to find these rare items.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Shrdlu

[JSngry]

51 minutes ago, Shrdlu said:

The following very lengthy article  has a lot of information about the Parrot label

https://campber.people.clemson.edu/parrot.html

What a valuable resource! Thanks for sharing!