Jamael DeanBest Jamael Dean Albums Ranked

Black Space Tapes

loudandquiet

10

“So much recent jazz from both the UK and the States, while undeniably engaging, also feels so in thrall to its forebears that you start to wonder if some of the musicians involved realise we’re two decades into the 21st century. LA pianist Jamael Dean, by contrast, not only knows what year it is, but also seems intent on only looking forwards. Sure, he clearly knows his Sun Ra and Coltrane (as wel”

Black Space Tapes

pitchfork

7.5

“The young pianist makes an impressive debut as bandleader, with an expansive sound that folds elements of hip-hop, R&B, and ambient into the broad outlines of spiritual jazz.”

Primordial Waters

loudandquiet

5.0

“Jamael Dean’s first album, Black Space Tapes, was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blast of hip-hop/jazz fusion, breathless and restless and brilliantly immersive: in just six tracks and 37 minutes, the LA piano prodigy appeared all over his hometown’s musical map, lacing ecstatic vocal runs with splashes of rap and sampladelic juxtaposition, before snapping you out of it like waking from a daydream, st”