A newly discovered live album from the late Pittsburgh-born jazz pianist/composer Ahmad Jamal will come out Saturday for Record Store Day.
The album, “At the Jazz Showcase: Live in Chicago,” is a two-LP set showcasing a 1976 recording from the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. The Resonance Records release features Jamal on piano with bassist John Heard and drummer Frank Gant. The limited edition 180-gram LP set drops April 18, with a two-CD set following on April 24.
The album features tracks ranging from Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance” to “Theme from M*A*S*H” to his own “Ahmad’s Song.”
Jamal, who was born in Pittsburgh in 1930 and graduated from Westinghouse High School, died in 2023. Jamal won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and among his 60-plus releases was 1989’s “Pittsburgh” on Atlantic Records.
These recordings comes from the archives of Joe Segal, who founded and owned Jazz Showcase.
“Joe was one of the most passionate jazz fans I’d ever met and he brought the best of the best to Chicago for decades at the Jazz Showcase and other venues all around town,” producer Zev Feldman said in the album liner notes. “Jamal is one of most prolific artists of our lifetime, and he had a longtime relationship with (Joe), who made these recordings. Jamal played the Jazz Showcase many, many times over the years at the various locations all over Chicago.”
Dr. Sumayah Jamal, who heads her father’s estate, said the album felt like a homecoming of sorts to the city where the elder Jamal lived from 1947-62.
“My father had tremendous respect for Joe Segal and his legendary Jazz Showcase,” Jamal said in a release. “How thrilling that a treasure trove of previously unreleased recordings of my father’s live performances were discovered in Joe’s personal archives. My father’s musical legacy was forged in Chicago, and these archival recordings reflect the sharp-edged brilliance of the musical voice that was honed in venues like the Jazz Showcase.”