| Ahmad Jamal | |
| Birth Name: | Frederick Russell Jones |
| Birth Date: | 2 July 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Years Active: | 1948–2020 |
Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master and won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his contributions to music history.[1] [2]
Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1930.[3] He began playing piano at the age of three, when his uncle Lawrence challenged him to duplicate what he was playing.[4] Jamal began formal piano training at the age of seven with Mary Cardwell Dawson, whom he said greatly influenced him. His Pittsburgh roots remained an important part of his identity ("Pittsburgh meant everything to me and it still does," he said in 2001) and it was there that he was immersed in the influence of jazz artists such as Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner. Jamal studied with pianist James Miller and began playing piano professionally at the age of fourteen,[5] at which point he was recognized as a "coming great" by the pianist Art Tatum.[6] When asked about his practice habits by a critic from The New York Times, Jamal commented that, "I used to practice and practice with the door open, hoping someone would come by and discover me. I was never the practitioner in the sense of twelve hours a day, but I always thought about music. I think about music all the time."
Jamal began touring with George Hudson's Orchestra after graduating from George Westinghouse High School in 1948.[7] [8] He then joined touring group The Four Strings, that disbanded when violinist Joe Kennedy Jr. left. In 1950 he moved to Chicago, performing intermittently with local musicians Von Freeman and Claude McLin,[9] and solo at the Palm Tavern, occasionally joined by drummer Ike Day.[10]
Born to Baptist parents, Jamal became interested in Islam and Islamic culture in Detroit, where there was a sizeable Muslim community in the 1940s and 1950s. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Ahmad Jamal in 1950. In an interview with The New York Times a few years later, he said his decision to change his name stemmed from a desire to "re-establish my original name."[11] Shortly after his conversion to Islam, he explained to The New York Times that he "says Muslim prayers five times a day and arises in time to say his first prayers at 5 am. He says them in Arabic in keeping with the Muslim tradition."
Jamal made his first records in 1951 for the Okeh label with The Three Strings[12] (which would later also be called the Ahmad Jamal Trio, although Jamal himself avoided using the term "trio"): the other members were guitarist Ray Crawford and a bassist, at different times Eddie Calhoun (1950–52), Richard Davis (1953–54), and Israel Crosby (from 1954). The Three Strings arranged an extended engagement at Chicago's Blue Note, but leapt to fame after performing at the Embers in New York City where John Hammond saw the band play and signed them to Okeh Records. Hammond, a record producer who discovered the talents and enhanced the fame of musicians like Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Count Basie, helped Jamal's trio attract critical acclaim. Jamal subsequently recorded for Parrot (1953–55) and Epic (1955) using the piano-guitar-bass lineup.[13]
The trio's sound changed significantly when Crawford was replaced with drummer Vernel Fournier in 1957, and the group worked as the "house trio" at Chicago's Pershing Hotel.[14] The trio released the live album, , which stayed on the Ten Best-selling charts for 108 weeks. Jamal's recording of the well-known song "Poinciana" was first released on this album.[15]
Perhaps Jamal's most famous recording, At the Pershing, was recorded at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago in 1958; it brought him popularity in the late 1950s and into the 1960s jazz age. Jamal played the set with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. The set list expressed a diverse collection of tunes, including "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from the musical Oklahoma! and Jamal's arrangement of the jazz standard "Poinciana". Jazz musicians and listeners alike found inspiration in the At the Pershing recording, and Jamal's trio was recognized as an integral new building block in the history of jazz. Evident were his unusually minimalist style and his extended vamps,[16] according to reviewer John Morthland. The New York Times contributor Ben Ratliff said, in a review of the album, "If you're looking for an argument that pleasurable mainstream art can assume radical status at the same time, Jamal is your guide."
After the recording of the best-selling album But Not For Me, Jamal's music grew in popularity throughout the 1950s, and he attracted media coverage for his investment decisions pertaining to his "rising fortune". In 1959, he took a tour of North Africa to explore investment options in Africa. Jamal, who was 29 at the time, said he had a curiosity about the homeland of his ancestors, highly influenced by his conversion to the Muslim faith. He also said his religion had brought him peace of mind about his race, which accounted for his "growth in the field of music that has proved very lucrative for me." Upon his return to the U.S. after a tour of North Africa, the financial success of Live at the Pershing: But Not For Me allowed Jamal to open a restaurant and club called The Alhambra in Chicago, which lasted barely one year.[17] [18] In 1962, The Three Strings disbanded and Jamal recorded Macanudo with a full orchestra. He then took a brief hiatus from performing.[19]
In 1964, Jamal resumed performing after moving to New York, and started a residency at the Village Gate nightclub.[20] He recorded a new album, Extensions, with bassist Jamil S. Nasser in 1965.[21] Jamal and Nasser continued to play together from 1964 to 1972.[22] He also joined forces with Fournier (again, 1965–1966)[23] and drummer Frank Gant (1966–77),[24] among others. Until 1970, he only played acoustic piano. The final album on which he played acoustic piano in the regular sequence was The Awakening. In the 1970s, he played electric piano as well, as on the instrumental recording of "Suicide is Painless," theme song from the 1970 film MASH, which was released on a 1973 reissue of the film's soundtrack album, replacing the original vocal version of the song by The Mash. Apparently, the Rhodes piano used was a gift from someone in Switzerland. He continued to play throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in trios with piano, bass and drums, and occasionally expanded the group to include guitar. One of his most long-standing gigs was as the band for the New Year's Eve celebrations at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., from 1979 through the 1990s.[25]
In his 80s, Jamal continued to make numerous tours and recordings, including albums such as Saturday Morning (2013), the CD/DVD release Ahmad Jamal Featuring Yusef Lateef Live at L'Olympia (2014), Marseille (2017), and Ballades (2019), featuring mostly solo piano.[26] Jamal was the main mentor of jazz piano virtuosos Hiromi Uehara, known as Hiromi,[27] and Shahin Novrasli.[28] [29] [30] [31] In 1986, Jamal sued critic Leonard Feather for using his former name in a publication.[32]
On April 16, 2023, Jamal died from complications of prostate cancer at home in Ashley Falls, Massachusetts. He was 92.[33] [34] His death was confirmed by his daughter, Sumayah Jamal.
Trained in both traditional jazz ("American classical music", as he preferred to call it) and European classical style, Jamal was praised as one of the greatest jazz innovators over the course of his exceptionally long career. Following bebop greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Jamal entered the world of jazz at a time when speed and virtuosic improvisation were central to the success of jazz musicians as artists. Jamal, however, took steps in the direction of a new movement, later coined "cool jazz" – an effort to move jazz in the direction of popular music. He emphasized space between notes in his musical compositions and interpretations instead of focusing on the fast-paced bebop style.[35]
Because of this style, Jamal was "often dismissed by jazz writers as no more than a cocktail pianist, a player so given to fluff that his work shouldn't be considered seriously in any artistic sense". Stanley Crouch, author of Considering Genius, offered a very different reaction to Jamal's music, claiming that, like the highly influential Thelonious Monk, Jamal was a true innovator of the jazz tradition and is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Parker. His unique musical style stemmed from many individual characteristics, including his use of orchestral effects and his ability to control the beat of songs. These stylistic choices resulted in a unique and new sound for the piano trio: "Through the use of space and changes of rhythm and tempo", wrote Crouch, "Jamal invented a group sound that had all the surprise and dynamic variation of an imaginatively ordered big band." Jamal explored the texture of riffs, timbres, and phrases rather than the quantity or speed of notes in any given improvisation. Speaking about Jamal, A. B. Spellman of the National Endowment of the Arts said: "Nobody except Thelonious Monk used space better, and nobody ever applied the artistic device of tension and release better."[36] These (at the time) unconventional techniques that Jamal gleaned from both traditional classical and contemporary jazz musicians helped pave the way for later jazz greats like Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, Ethan Iverson, and Bill Charlap.[37]
Though Jamal is often overlooked by jazz critics and historians, he is frequently credited with having a great influence on Miles Davis. Davis is quoted as saying that he was impressed by Jamal's rhythmic sense and his "concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement". Miles used to send his crew to concerts of Jamal, so they could learn to play like Miles wanted it.[38] Jamal's contrasts (crafting melodies that included strong and mild tones, and fast and slow rhythms) were what impressed Miles. Jamal characterized what he thought Davis admired about his music as: "my discipline as opposed to my space." Jamal and Davis became friends in the 1950s, and Davis continued to support Jamal as a fellow musician, often playing versions of Jamal's own songs ("Ahmad's Blues", "New Rhumba") until he died in 1991.
Jamal, speaking about his own work, said, "I like doing ballads. They're hard to play. It takes years of living, really, to read them properly." From an early age, Jamal developed an appreciation for the lyrics of the songs he learned: "I once heard Ben Webster playing his heart out on a ballad. All of a sudden he stopped. I asked him, 'Why did you stop, Ben?' He said, 'I forgot the lyrics.'" Jamal attributed the variety in his musical taste to the fact that he grew up in several eras: the big band era, the bebop years, and the electronic age. He said his style evolved from drawing on the techniques and music produced in these three eras. In 1985, Jamal agreed to do an interview and recording session with his fellow jazz pianist, Marian McPartland on her NPR show Piano Jazz. Jamal, who said he rarely would play "But Not For Me" due to its popularity after his 1958 recording, played an improvised version of the tune – though only after noting that he moved on to making ninety percent of his repertoire his own compositions. He said that when he grew in popularity from the Live at the Pershing album, he was severely criticized afterwards for not playing any of his own compositions.[39] In his later years, Jamal embraced the electronic influences affecting the genre of jazz. He also occasionally expanded his usual small ensemble of three to include a tenor saxophone (George Coleman) and a violin. A jazz fan interviewed by Down Beat magazine about Jamal in 2010 described his development as "more aggressive and improvisational these days. The word I used to use is avant garde; that might not be right. Whatever you call it, the way he plays is the essence of what jazz is."
Saxophonist Ted Nash described his experience with Jamal's style in an interview with Down Beat magazine: "The way he comped wasn't the generic way that lots of pianists play with chords in the middle of the keyboard, just filling things up. He gave lots of single line responses. He'd come back and throw things out at you, directly from what you played. It was really interesting because it made you stop, and allowed him to respond, and then you felt like playing something else – that's something I don't feel with a lot of piano players. It's really quite engaging. I guess that's another reason people focus in on him. He makes them hone in."
Jamal recorded with the voices of the Howard A. Roberts Chorale on The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful and Cry Young; with vibraphonist Gary Burton on In Concert;[40] [41] with brass, reeds, and strings celebrating his hometown of Pittsburgh; with The Assai Quartet;[42] and with tenor saxophonist George Coleman on the album The Essence Part One.[43]
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–55 | The Piano Scene of Ahmad Jamal | Epic | Trio, with Ray Crawford (guitar), Eddie Calhoun and Israel Crosby (bass; separately) | [56] | |
| 1955 | Ahmad Jamal Plays | Parrot | Trio, with Ray Crawford (guitar), Israel Crosby (bass); also released as Chamber Music of the New Jazz by Argo | ||
| 1955 | The Ahmad Jamal Trio | Epic | Trio, with Ray Crawford (guitar), Israel Crosby (bass) | ||
| 1956 | Count 'Em 88 | Argo / MCA | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Walter Perkins (drums) | [57] [58] | |
| 1958 | Ahmad's Blues | Chess | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | [59] | |
| 1958 | (Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing, Vol. 1) | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | ||
| 1958 | At the Pershing, Vol. 2 | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | [60] | |
| 1958 | Ahmad Jamal Trio Volume IV | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | [61] | |
| 1958 | Portfolio of Ahmad Jamal | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | ||
| 1958 | Poinciana | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums) | [62] | |
| 1959 | Jamal at the Penthouse | Argo | With Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums), orchestra; in concert | [63] | |
| 1960 | Happy Moods | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums) | [64] | |
| 1960 | Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet | Argo | Quintet, with Ray Crawford (guitar), Joe Kennedy (violin), Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums) | [65] | |
| 1961 | All of You | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | ||
| 1961 | Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | ||
| 1961 | Ahmad Jamal at the Blackhawk | Argo | Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert | [66] | |
| 1962 | Macanudo | Argo | With orchestra arranged and conducted by Richard Evans | [67] | |
| 1964 | Naked City Theme | Argo | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Chuck Lampkin (drums); in concert at the San Francisco Jazz Workshop | [68] | |
| 1965 | The Roar of the Greasepaint | Argo | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Chuck Lampkin (drums) | [69] | |
| 1965 | Extensions | Argo | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums) | ||
| 1965 | Rhapsody | Cadet | With Jamil Nasser (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums), orchestra | [70] | |
| 1966 | Heat Wave | Cadet | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums) | [71] | |
| 1967 | Cry Young | Cadet | With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), choir | [72] | |
| 1968 | The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful | Cadet | With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), choir | [73] | |
| 1968 | Tranquility | ABC | With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums) | [74] | |
| 1968 | Impulse! | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums); in concert | |||
| 1970 | The Awakening | Impulse! | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums) | ||
| 1971 | Freeflight | Impulse! | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums); in concert at Montreux Jazz Festival | ||
| 1971 | Outertimeinnerspace | Impulse! | Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums); in concert at Montreux Jazz Festival | [75] | |
| 1973 | Ahmad Jamal '73 | 20th Century | With orchestra, vocals | [76] | |
| 1974 | Jamalca | 20th Century | With orchestra, vocals | ||
| 1974 | Jamal Plays Jamal | 20th Century | Quartet, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), Azzedin Weston (congas) | [77] | |
| 1975 | Genetic Walk | 20th Century | With Calvin Keys and Danny Leake (guitar; separately), Richard Evans, Roger Harris John Heard and Jamil Nasser (bass; separately), Steve Cobb, Frank Gant, Morris Jenkins, Eddie Marshall and Harvey Mason (drums; separately) | ||
| 1976 | Steppin' Out with a Dream | 20th Century | Quartet, with Calvin Keys (guitar), John Heard (bass), Frank Gant (drums) | [78] | |
| 1976 | Recorded Live at Oil Can Harry's | Catalyst | Quintet, with Calvin Keys (guitar), John Heard (bass), Frank Gant (drums), Seldon Newton (percussion); in concert | ||
| 1978 | One | 20th Century | With various | [79] | |
| 1980 | Intervals | 20th Century | Quintet, with Calvin Keys (guitar), John Heard (bass), Harvey Mason (drums), Seldon Newton (percussion) | ||
| 1980 | Live at Bubba's | Who's Who in Jazz | Trio, with Sabu Adeyola (bass), Payton Crossley (drums); in concert | ||
| 1980 | Night Song | Motown | With Oscar Brashear and Robert O'Bryant (trumpet), Maurice Spears and Garnett Brown (trombone), Pete Christlieb (alto sax), Ernie Fields (baritone sax), Dean Paul Gant and Gil Askey (keyboards), Calvin Keys and Greg Purce (guitar), John Heard and Kenneth Burke bass), Chester Thompson (drums) | [80] | |
| 1980 | In Concert | Personal Choice | Some tracks trio, with Sabu Adeyola (bass), Payton Crossley (drums); some tracks quartet, with Gary Burton (vibraphone) added; in concert | ||
| 1982 | American Classical Music | Shubra | Quartet, with David Adeyola (bass), Payton Crossley (drums), Selden Newton (percussion); in concert; reissued by Black Lion as Goodbye Mr. Evans (1984).Recorded live in San Francisco, July 1982 | [81] | |
| 1985 | Digital Works | Atlantic | Quartet, with Larry Ball (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Iraj Lashkary (percussion) | ||
| 1985 | Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 1985 | Atlantic | Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Selden Newton (percussion); in concert | [82] | |
| 1986 | Rossiter Road | Atlantic | Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion) | ||
| 1987 | Crystal | Atlantic | Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), David Bowler (drums), Willie White (percussion) | ||
| 1989 | Pittsburgh | Atlantic | With James Cammack (bass), David Bowler (drums), orchestra | ||
| 1992 | Live in Paris 1992 | Verve | Some tracks trio with James Cammack (bass), David Bowler (drums); some tracks trio with Todd Coolman (bass), Gordon Lane (drums); in concert | ||
| 1992 | Telarc | Trio, with John Heard (bass), Yoron Israel (drums); in concert | |||
| 1992 | Live at Blues Alley | Blues Alley Musical Society | |||
| 1994 | I Remember Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn | Telarc | Trio, with Ephriam Wolfolk (bass), Arti Dixson (drums) | ||
| 1994 | Ahmad Jamal at Home | Roesch | |||
| 1994–95 | The Essence Part One | Birdology | Most tracks quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); some tracks quintet, with George Coleman (tenor sax), Jamil Nasser (bass), Muhammad (drums), Badrena (percussion) | ||
| 1994–95 | Birdology | Most tracks quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); one track quintet with Joe Kennedy Jr. (violin), Jamil Nasser (bass), Muhammad (drums), Badrena (percussion); one track quintet with Donald Byrd (trumpet) replacing Kennedy Jr. | |||
| 1996 | Live in Paris 1996 | Dreyfus | With George Coleman (tenor sax), Calvin Keys (guitar), Joe Kennedy (violin), Jeff Chambers (bass), Yoron Israel (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); in concert | [83] | |
| 1997 | Birdology | Most tracks quintet, with James Cammack (bass), Othello Molineaux (steel drum), Idris Muhammad (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); one track sextet, with Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax) added | [84] [85] | ||
| 1998 | Ahmad Jamal with The Assai Quartet | Roesch | With string quartet | ||
| 2001 | Picture Perfect | Birdology | Some tracks trio, with James Cammack and Jamil Nasser (bass; separately), Idris Muhammad (drums); some tracks quartet, with Mark Cargill (violin) added | ||
| 2000 | Ahmad Jamal à l'Olympia | Dreyfus | Quartet, with George Coleman (tenor sax), James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums); in concert; also known as Ahmad Jamal 70th Birthday | ||
| 2002 (released 2003) | In Search of... Momentum | Birdology | Trio, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums) | ||
| 2004 | After Fajr | Birdology | Most tracks trio, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums); one tracks quintet, with Donna McElroy and Vox One (vocals) added; in concert | ||
| 2007 | It's Magic | Birdology | Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion) | [86] | |
| 2008 | Poinciana: One Night Only | [87] | |||
| 2009 | A Quiet Time | Dreyfus | With James Cammack (bass), Kenny Washington (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion) | [88] | |
| 2011 | Blue Moon | Jazz Village | With Reginald Veal (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); nominated for a Grammy Award | [89] | |
| 2012 | Ahmad Jamal & Yusef Lateef/Live At The Olympia | Jazz Village | Ahmad Jamal piano, Yusuf Lateef saxophone, flute, vocals, Reginald Veal bass, Manolo Badrena percussion, Herlin Riley drums | [90] [91] | |
| 2013 | Saturday Morning: La Buissonne Studio Sessions | Jazz Village | With Reginald Veal (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion) | [92] | |
| 2016 | Marseille | Jazz Village | Most tracks quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); one track quintet with Abd Al Malik (spoken word) added; one track quintet with Mina Agossi (vocals) added | [93] [94] | |
| 2019 | Ballades | Jazz Village | Most tracks solo piano; three tracks with James Cammack (bass) |
With Ray Brown
With Shirley Horn
Bibliography