Ahmad Jamal: But Not for Me

One of the slickest things about this arrangement of But Not For Me is that it defines Ahmad Jamals subtleties. In the trio, each guy is doing something very specific, but you dont think youre listening to an arrangementyoure just enjoying the ride. When Ahmad Jamal improvises on a form, hes constantly playing over the barlinehes not strictly defining the top and end of a form, but completely easing across it musically, making for an entity versus a series of choruses. You dont think about keys or tempos or modulations or time signatures or anything like that. Another slick thing about the piece is that super-hip modulation at the top of the last chorus, where he slides right from C-major (his favorite key) into F-major. For years, I didnt even realize that he had modulated.