The title of this 1959 album might suggest a live recording, or at least a recording on location made with professional equipment such as the 1958 Pershing and Spotlite performances which marked the beginning of Ahmad Jamal’s success. However, this was actually a studio recording made by the trio at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New York (hence the title) with a tightly arranged string orchestra conducted by Joe Kennedy. Jamal at the Penthouse (Argo LP646) would be the first of just two collaborations between Jamal and Kennedy.
Their second and final work together, titled Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet, would present Kennedy as a performer (he was a violinist) and was recorded in Chicago on August 15 & 16, 1960 (the other musician added there was Ray Crawford on guitar). The Nola Penthouse studio recordings marked Jamal’s first recorded experiment with a large string orchestra. The trio on Jamal at the Penthouse is still that of the celebrated Pershing and Spotlite recordings, with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernell Fournier on drums.
As a bonus to this LP, we have added another complete Jamal album, titled Count ‘Em 88, which was also recorded in the studio and released on the Argo label. As a final bonus, we have included trio versions of the only two compositions by Jamal on Jamal at the Penthouse, “Ahmad Blues” and “Seleritus”, which present a welcome contrast to the string arrangements of those tunes. The former track was recorded in the studio in 1952 for the Epic label, while the latter
belongs to the celebrated 1958 Spotlite Club performances in Washington.
