After being inducted last year into the French government's prestigious Order of the Arts and Letters established in 1957 to recognize distinguished artists and writers and
others who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in
France and around the world, Ahmad Jamal dropped his latest jazz concoction -'It's Magic' - on June 10, 2008. On this recent outing, he is backed by percussionist Manolo Badrena, rhythm section drummer Idris Muhammad and bassist James Cammack. The album features a stunning interpretation of the Academy Award nominated song 'It's Magic' along with covers of Ned Washingtons's 'Wild Is The Wind' and Joe Raposo' s 'Sing.'  As a newcomer, I found this to be one rocking ride with one of the artform's legends. However, this being my introduction to Mr. Jamal, I was wondering what afficionados think in terms of how this compares with previous releases. Educate a brother!