Chicago pianist Ahmad Jamal was often accused by critics of being too much of a cocktail-hour player, but he had a devoted black audience that included Miles Davis, who was enraptured by Jamal’s block chords and magnificent sense of time. For someone so locked into the groove, though, this album — which features guitarist Ray Crawford and bassist Israel Crosby, but no drummer — is a very welcome surprise. (Originally just called Ahmad Jamal Plays in 1955, it was given its much more accurate title upon re-release in 1956.) Jamal takes most of the solos, but the arrangements are extremely balanced (and unique; their version of “A Foggy Day” is so sparse it’s barely recognizable), giving Crawford and Crosby plenty of room to make emphatic and considered contributions to the music. And the controlled power he’d display in later, more traditional trio settings is audible here, too; “It Ain’t Necessarily So” ripples like a river on the verge of overflowing.