Ahmad Jamal Genetic Walk Zippy
Though Jamal was a highly technically proficient player, well-versed in the gymnastic idioms of swing and bebop, he chose to play in a more pared down and nuanced style. Which is to say that while he played with the skill of a virtuoso, it was often what he chose not to play that marked him as an innovator. Influenced by such pianists as, and, as well as big-band and orchestral music, Jamal developed his own boundary-pushing approach to modern jazz that incorporated an abundance of space, an adept use of tension and release, unexpected rhythmic phrasing and dynamics, and a highly melodic, compositional style.
From Oannes blog 🎧 click on the image to see original post and listen “Play like Jamal” η συμβουλή του Miles Davis στους πιανίστες του, στα ’50s. Εδώ, στο Spartacus Love Theme του Alex North, από το σάουντρακ της ταινίας του Kubrick. “Play like Jamal” was the advice Miles Davis gave to his pianists, in. Manhattan Reflections - excerpt I talked about this album - Ahmad Jamal's first on which he played the fender rhodes - in the context of the 'Steppin Out With A Dream' post the other week, so have a read at that link about where it sits in his career.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1930, Jamal was a child prodigy and began playing piano at age 3, discovered by his uncle. By the time he was 7 years old, Jamal was studying privately with Mary Cardwell Dawson, the founder of the National Negro Opera Company. An accomplished musician by his teens, Jamal performed regularly in the local jazz scene and in 1949 toured with George Hudson's Orchestra. After leaving Hudson, he joined swing violinist 's group the Four Strings, with whom he stayed until 's departure around 1950. After leaving the Four Strings, Jamal relocated to Chicago, where he formed his own group, the Three Strings with bassist Eddie Calhoun and guitarist. The precursor to the later, the Three Strings would, at different times, include bassists. During a stint in New York City, the Three Strings caught the ear of legendary record exec and talent scout who signed the group to the subsidiary in 1951.
Ahmad Jamal Albums
During this time, Jamal released several influential albums including Ahmad Jamal Trio Plays (also known as Chamber Music of the New Jazz ) on (1955), The Ahmad Jamal Trio on (1955), and Count 'Em 88 on (1956). Some of the landmark songs recorded during these sessions included 'Ahmad's Blues' and 'Pavanne,' both of which had a profound impact on, who later echoed the spare, bluesy quality of Jamal's playing on his own recordings.
In 1958, Jamal took up a residency in the lounge of the Pershing Hotel in Chicago. Working with bassist and drummer Vernell Fornier, Jamal recorded the seminal live album, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me. Comprised primarily of jazz standards, including his definitive version of the buoyant Latin number 'Poinciana,' the album showcased Jamal's minimalist phrasing and unique approach to small group jazz, emphasizing varied dynamics and nuanced shading as opposed to the high energy freneticism commonly associated with jazz of the '40s and '50s. The smash success of Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me raised the musician's profile and allowed him to open his own club and restaurant, The Alhambra, in Chicago in 1959.
During this time, Jamal released several albums on the label including Ahmad Jamal Trio, Vol. 4 (1958), Ahmad Jamal at the Penthouse (1960), Happy Moods (1960), Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra (1961), and All of You (1961). Unfortunately, The Alhambra closed in 1961. The following year, Jamal disbanded his trio, moved to New York City and took a two year hiatus from the music industry. In 1964, Jamal returned to performing and recording.
Working with a new version of his trio that included bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Gant, with whom he would work until 1972, Jamal recorded several more albums for (later renamed ) including Naked City Theme (1964), The Roar of the Greasepaint (1965), and Extensions (1965), Rhapsody (1966), Heat Wave (1966), Cry Young (1967), and The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful (1968). Also in 1968, Jamal made his debut with the live album Ahmad Jamal at the Top: Poinciana Revisited.
This was followed by several more releases including The Awakening (1970), Freeflight (1971), and Outertimeinnerspace (1972), both of which culled tracks from his appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1971. These albums found Jamal moving toward an expansive, funk-infused style, sometimes playing a Fender Rhodes electric keyboard.
Ahmad Jamal Live
Also during the '70s, Jamal moved to the label and continued to release a steady stream of albums that attracted both hardcore jazz and crossover audiences. Of his '70s albums, both Genetic Walk (1975) and Intervals (1979) made the R&B charts. The '90s also saw a resurgence in interest and acclaim for Jamal, who was awarded the American Jazz Master Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1994. Though he never stopped interpreting standards, Jamal utilized his own compositions more and more as the decades passed. During this period, he delivered such albums as Chicago Revisited: Live at Joel Segal's Jazz Showcase on (1992), Live in Paris '92 on (1993), I Remember Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn on (1994), as well as a handful of superb releases for including The Essence, Pt.
1 (1995), Big Byrd: The Essence, Pt. 2 (1995), and Nature: The Essence, Pt.
In 2000, Jamal celebrated his 70th birthday with the concert album L'Olympia 2000 (released in October of the following year), which featured saxophonist. He followed up with In Search of Momentum (2003), After Fajr (2005), It's Magic (2008), A Quiet Time (2010), and Blue Moon: The New York Session/The Paris Concert (2012). In 2013, Jamal released the album Saturday Morning: La Buissone Studio Sessions, featuring bassist and drummer.
Also in 2013, Jamal opened Lincoln Center's concert season by performing live with. A year later, he delivered the concert album Live at the Olympia, June 27, 2012: The Music and the Film of the Complete Concert, which featured.
In 2017, Jamal delivered the small group session Marseille, which included contributions from French rapper and vocalist. Matt Collar, Rovi Read More.
