Jazz pianist Pat Thomas, whose collaboration with Mark Fell is still fresh in our minds; drummer Antonin Gerbal, who has performed with artists such as Eliane Radigue and Jim O’Rourke; double bassist Joel Grip, who also runs Umlaut Records; and saxophonist Seymour Wright, who has released numerous albums on this label. This quartet, حمد [Ahmed], features four masters of the improvisational scene. It is a project that reexamines Ahmed Abdul-Malik—an artist who, despite honing his craft alongside Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Randy Weston, and John Coltrane, has long been underappreciated. This album is [Ahmed]’s first studio recording session, held in early 2025 at Fish Factory Studio in North London. Recorded in a single take with an engineer present, it is a work that allows listeners to hear the finest details yet. Featuring piano—an instrument absent from the original—to the forefront, it delivers a transcendent sound that blends free jazz, North African folk, and bebop. The tracklist mirrors that of Ahmed’s 1958 debut album as a bandleader, *Jazz Sahara*. Valentina Magaletti also named it one of her top picks for 2025. Don’t miss it. (Original Japanese text by Adachi)