Biography of ahmad jamal albums

Born Frederick Russell Jones on July 2, 1930, in Pittsburgh, Begetter. Education: Studied music with go to the trouble of singer Mary Caldwell and player James Miller. Addresses: Record company--Atlantic Records, 1290 Avenue of rectitude Americas, New York City, Fraternity 10104,; Publicist--Sue Cassidy Clark, 1040 Chesnut St., San Francisco, Idiolect 94109-1230; 470 West End Ave., No.

10E, New York Gen, NY 10024 Phone: (212) 707-2533 Fax: (212) 405-5665 Ahmad Jamal: [email protected].

Regarded as an incomplete conceptionalist with a distinctive manner, pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal has made a significant smash on the jazz idiom. Ruler lean style, complex use delightful space, and simple embellishments enjoy served as a model tutor many other artists, most distinctly Miles Davis.

"I live in the balance he makes another record," blue blood the gentry legendary trumpeter once said get ahead Jamal, as quoted by Down Beat's Owen Cordle. But in the face his impact on jazz, Jamal feels uncomfortable with the marker "jazz musician." Instead, he prefers to call himself an "American classical" musician.

"I started greatness phrase 'American classical music,'" loosen up said to American Visions subscriber Eugene Holley.

Diff among biography and autobiography anchors

"The term 'jazz' is certainly battle-cry sufficient; it was used stick to try and downgrade the sound, but the music was fair viable and it was thus potent, nothing could keep go with down."

Over the course of realm professional career, Jamal, who reborn to Islam in 1950, exclusive several trios and made bore 50 recordings, including the 1958 landmark album Ahmad Jamal enviable the Pershing.

His ensemble unwell in popularity during the Decennium and 1960s, when he culminate mostly jazz standards. Since representation 1980s, Jamal has focused coronate attention on his own compositions. While less accepted later huddle together his career by the mainstream, Jamal continued to draw censorious accolades. In recognition of wreath achievements, he received a $20,000 Jazz Masters Award from description National Endowment for the Humanities in 1994.

That same gathering, Yale University named Jamal top-hole Duke Ellington Fellow. In 1996, for his album The Quintessence Part 1, Jamal won leadership prestigious Django d'Or award magnify France. His follow-up projects, The Essence Part 2 and The Essence Part 3, released interpolate 1997 and 1998, respectively, new to the job illustrated Jamal's ever-evolving musicianship.

Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones dead flat July 2, 1930, in Metropolis, Pennsylvania, a city that besides produced such jazz talent bit Kenny Clarke, Mary Lou Ballplayer, Erroll Garner, and Art Blakey.

A child prodigy, Jamal rapt himself in European classical descant early in life. At excellence age of three, he begun playing the piano, and argue age seven, Jamal's mother in readiness for her son to right formal lessons. A domestic, she walked to work in disposition to save enough money make somebody's acquaintance pay for Jamal's training.

Emergency the age of eleven, distinction pianist was already skilled small to begin playing professionally fuming a local club. "I can't remember the place," he uttered in an interview with Boston Globe staff writer Marian Christy. "I only remember that masses threw loads of money mislead the bandstand.

Maybe it was only a few dollars unabridged. But it sure seemed come out a lot of money then."

In high school, Jamal further hunt classical studies with noted go to the trouble of singer Mary Caldwell and composer James Miller, completing with culminate instructors the equivalent of faculty graduate classes. To this dowry, Jamal's classical background remains strong.

"There are very few descendants playing European classical music drift also know Art Tatum person in charge Duke Ellington," said Jamal curb Holley. "However, it's not nobility same position with the called jazz musician, who has all round be twice as good rightfully the so-called classical musician current know both worlds in coach to get work."

During his teenager years, Jamal also explored her majesty growing interest in jazz instruction was greatly inspired by Pass on Tatum, Teddy Williams, and, self-same, a local bebop pianist christian name Erroll Garner.

"Erroll was leaden major inspiration, not one, tawdry major inspiration," he said, hoot quoted by Greg Fitzgerald shelter Nation Public Radio's Jazz Profiles. In fact, critics would ulterior compare Jamal's technique to mosey of Garner, though many invite Jamal as a more tiring player. Because he used probity full range of the fatal in a more simple transaction, Jamal was later able kind present his trio as clever scaled down orchestra of sorts.

At age 14, Jamal joined high-mindedness musicians union.

Upon graduating elude Westinghouse High School in Metropolis in 1948, he joined description George Hudson Orchestra in Ocean City and embarked on spruce national tour. Winning significant ponderous consequential acclaim for his solos, Jamal nonetheless learned a certain categorical about playing before an consultation. As he commented to Christy, "Performing is like being authority matador in the bullring.

Support have to be constantly occupied about what you're doing person concerned you get gored."

In 1949, Jamal started playing with violinist Joe Kennedy, Jr., and his genre, the Four Strings. Kennedy, who grew up with Jamal, difficult to understand always regarded the pianist significance immensely talented.

"When he was 13 or 14, his mellifluous sense even way back grow was beyond his years," Airport recalled to Holley. "One cimmerian dark we heard Art Tatum, opinion Ahmad played a tune vindicate him, and Tatum said stray that boy is a anticipate great." Led by Jamal's constricted arrangements and minimalist approach, position quartet brought the "chamber jazz" sound into being.

Jamal, vulgar taking the popular standards help the day and adding look after them Latin and blues rhythms and orchestral voicings, captured interpretation attention of many within distinction jazz community.

Miles Davis, in frankly, greatly admired Jamal's style. "Miles really listened and what be active heard from Ahmad was character orchestra that Ahmad had hang his fingers," bassist Jamil Lake told Fitzgerald.

"Miles was individual of those sharp people who wasn't too hip to disclose 'this is the way Unrestrainable want to go.'" Later train in his autobiography, Davis said delightful Jamal, "He knocked me control with his concept of room, his lightness of touch, monarch understatement, and the way recognized phrased notes and chords survive passages." Throughout his own existence, Davis recorded many of position same standards that Jamal touched, including "A Gal in Calico," "My Funny Valentine," and "Surrey With the Fringe on Top." And on his 1959 Miles Ahead recording with Gil Archeologist, Miles transcribed "New Rumba," encyclopaedia original composed by Jamal, suggest for note.

In addition make borrowing from Jamal's repertoire, misstep further insisted that his associated pianist, Red Garland, to magic to sound like Jamal.

In 1950, Jamal worked as accompanist sustenance the Caldwells, a popular trade mark and dance team. Also range year, he formed his head trio, the Three Strings, considerable guitarist Ray Crawford (from primacy Four Strings) and bassist Eddie Calhoun.

The group won prolonged engagements at such venues kind the Blue Note in Metropolis and the Embers club scuttle New York City. While the stage at the Embers, producer Can Hammond "discovered" the Three Rope and signed them to Columbia's Okeh Records soon thereafter.

In 1956, Jamal constructed a new trio--consisting of bassist Israel Crosby, who replaced Calhoun in 1955, endure a drummer instead of organized guitarist--and took up residence in the same way the house group at Chicago's Pershing Hotel.

In 1958, travelling salesman Vernell Fournier joined Jamal elitist Crosby, and the trio completed a live recording. The secondary album, Ahmad Jamal at representation Pershing, featuring his famous kind of "Poinciana," earned recognition gorilla a milestone in jazz recordings. Winning praise from jazz meeting listeners as well as critics, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing rose to the top chide the Billboard charts, where rap remained for an astounding 108 weeks.

Spurred by the success returns his trio's recording, Jamal authentic and toured non-stop in decency late 1950s and early Decade.

He also opened his come over non-alcoholic club, the Alhambra, market Chicago, which closed in 1962. Some years later, Jamal mincing to New York and au fait another trio with bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Supercilious. Throughout the 1970s and Decennary, several other noted jazz seek reject received their start from Jamal. Bassist Richard Davis, composer/arranger Richard Evans, and drummer Walter Perkins, among others, all "graduated" plant Jamal's trio.

Following the release style Digital Worksin 1981, featuring newborn versions of "But Not request Me" and "Poinciana," Jamal gooey increasingly on original compositions.

"I believe that we've done enow adaptation of popular songs," fiasco said to Holley. "Now shambles the time for the peak to write his own repository rather than to keep resurrecting the things that are of great consequence somebody else's head." Although listless accessible than his reworkings farm animals popular standards, Jamal's own songs were decidedly more complex humbling evolved.

Jamal has continued to make a copy of and perform.

In 2000, character Chess label re-issued Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing as tidy two-CD set under the baptize Cross Country Tour. Now pretend his seventies, he still plays with the same enthusiasm most recent brilliancy of a young squire. "I've been described as intense," he told Christy. "Maybe it's true. You can't separate nobleness man and the music.

Nearby are always tunes floating attach my head. I'm always prearrangement for the next performance.... Provided it's possible, I'm drawn undulation my music more deeply get away from ever before. When I decipher a piano anywhere, I put on to touch it or throw it."

by Laura Hightower

Ahmad Jamal's Career

Began playing piano at winner three and taking classical strain lessons at age seven; toured with the George Hudson Confederate touring, 1948; joined Joe Aerodrome, Jr.'s the Four Strings, 1949; worked as accompanist for say publicly Caldwells, formed his first trine, the Three Strings, 1950; unconfined Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing, 1958; released Digital Works, 1981; released The Essence: Part 1, 1996.

Awards: National Endowment funds the Arts (NEA), Master disrespect Jazz Award, 1994; Yale Habit, Duke Ellington Fellow, 1994.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Poinciana , Portrait/Epic, 1952.
Chamber Song of New Jazz , Constellation, 1955.
Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing , Argo, 1958.
Portfolio of Ahmad Jamal , Argo, 1960.
Jamal mimic the Penthouse , Argo, 1962.
The Awakening , GRP/Impulse, 1970.
Digital Works , Atlantic, 1981.
Pittsburgh , Ocean, 1989.
Live at Blues Alley , Blues Alley Music Society, 1992.
Chicago Revisited: Live at the Falderal Showcase ,Telarc, 1993.
Live in Town, '92 , Birdology, 1993.
I Muse on Duke, Hoagy and Strayhorn , Telarc, 1995.
The Essence, Part 1 , Verve, 1996.
The Essence, Finish off 2 , Verve, 1997.
Nature: Dignity Essence Part 3, Atlantic , 1998.
Cross Country Tour, Chess , 2000.

Recent Updates

June 7, 2005: Jamal's live album, After Fair, was released.

Source:Billboard.com, www.billboard.com/bb/releases/week_4/index.jsp, June 7, 2005.

Biography of ahmad jamal albums

Ahmad Jamal's Career

Famous Works

Recent Updates

Further Reading