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Ahmad Jamal

{{Short description|American jazz pianist (1930–2023)}}

{{for-multi|the Pakistani cricketer|Ahmed Jamal (cricketer)|the Egyptian footballer|Ahmed Jamal (footballer)}}

{{Use American English|date=April 2023}}

{{Use shortened footnotes|date=April 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ahmad Jamal

| image = Ahmad Jamal KK.jpg

| caption = Jamal at Keystone Korner in San Francisco, 1980

| birth_name = Frederick Russell Jones

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|7|2}}

| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| origin =

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|4|16|1930|7|2}}

| death_place = Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, U.S.

| genre = {{hlist|Jazz|hard bop|modal jazz|cool jazz|post-bop}}

| occupation = Musician

| instrument = Piano

| years_active = 1948–2020

| label = {{Flatlist|

}}

| associated_acts =

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

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.{{sfn|Early|2001|p=79}} He was a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master and won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his contributions to music history.{{Cite news |last=Grode |first=Eric |date=April 16, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal, Jazz Pianist With a Measured Approach, Dies at 92 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/obituaries/ahmad-jamal-jazz-dead.html |access-date=April 16, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=2017 Special Merit Awards: Sly Stone, Velvet Underground, Nina Simone |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/special-merit-awards-class-of-2017 |date=May 15, 2017|access-date=April 16, 2023 |website=www.grammy.com}}

Biography

=Early life=

Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1930.{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Richard |date=November 26, 2013 |title=Jamal, Ahmad [Jones, Frederick Russell] |journal=Grove Music Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2275871}} He began playing piano at the age of three, when his uncle Lawrence challenged him to duplicate what he was playing.{{cite web|first=Karen|last=Michel|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/12/31/374217492/ahmad-jamal-a-musical-architect-of-the-highest-order-keeps-on-building |title=Ahmad Jamal, 'A Musical Architect Of The Highest Order,' Keeps on Building|website=Npr.org|date=December 31, 2014|access-date=November 19, 2016}} Jamal began formal piano training at the age of seven with Mary Cardwell Dawson, who 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){{sfn|Early|2001|pp=79–85}} 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,Wang, Richard and Barry Kernfeld. "Jamal, Ahmad". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Web. April 17, 2012. at which point he was recognized as a "coming great" by the pianist Art Tatum.Waltzer, Ben. "Always Making Jazz Seem New: The Pianist Ahmad Jamal Is an Innovator Who Finds Originality by Taking a Long at the Tradition of Small-Group Jazz." The New York Times, November 11, 2001: A27. Print. 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."

=Beginnings=

{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | audio1 = [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94111325 Ahmad Jamal On Piano Jazz], August 29, 2008, Piano Jazz{{cite news | title =Ahmad Jamal On Piano Jazz | work = Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland| publisher =NPR | date =August 29, 2008 | url =https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94111325 | access-date =September 19, 2016 }}

| audio2 = [http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_B44B3712B21F48A696DD767FFBE1C49A Eric in The Evening; Ahmad Jamal], interview, January 18, 1989, Open Vault at WGBH{{cite web | title =Eric in The Evening; Ahmad Jamal] | publisher =Open Vault at WGBH| date =January 18, 1989 | url =http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_B44B3712B21F48A696DD767FFBE1C49A | access-date =September 19, 2016 }}

| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GvQn7LS4eY&list=PL26C87039518945EF Ahmad Jamal – Interview – "American Classical Music"], April 27, 2010, underyourskindvd{{cite web | title =Ahmad Jamal – Interview – "American Classical Music" | publisher =Underyourskindvd| date =April 27, 2010 | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GvQn7LS4eY&list=PL26C87039518945EF | access-date =September 19, 2016 }}

}}

Jamal began touring with George Hudson's Orchestra after graduating from George Westinghouse High School in 1948.{{Cite web |last1=Wang |first1=Richard |last2=Kernfeld |first2=Barry |date=2003 |title=Jamal, Ahmad (jazz) |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J221400 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |website=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J221400}}{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal, Influential Jazz Pianist Dies at 92 |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/ahmad-jamal-dead-jazz-pianist-dies-obituary-1235304438/ |access-date=April 20, 2023}} 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,{{Cite web |title=Ahmad Jamal, An Architect of Modern Jazz, Dead at 92 |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/ahmad-jamal-architect-modern-jazz-025733576.html |date=April 17, 2023|access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Yahoo Sports |language=en-US}} and solo at the Palm Tavern, occasionally joined by drummer Ike Day.Panken, Ted [http://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/its-ahmad-jamals-81st-birthday/ "It's Ahmad Jamal's 81st Birthday"]. Tedpanken.wordpress.com, Retrieved July 3, 2013.

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."Walz, Jay (November 20, 1959). "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/11/20/81521187.html?pageNumber=14 Pianist-Investor Is a Hit in Cairo: Jazz Musician Ahmad Jamal Finds Muslim Faith Aids Him on African Visit]." The New York Times. p. 14. 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{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Mike |date=September 14, 2022 |title=Jazz news: Ahmad Jamal: Complete Okeh, Parrot & Epic |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/ahmad-jamal-complete-okeh-parrot-and-epic/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}} (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.{{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |date=September 14, 2022 |title=Jazz news: Ahmad Jamal: Complete Okeh, Parrot & Epic |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/ahmad-jamal-complete-okeh-parrot-and-epic/ |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}

=''At the Pershing: But Not for Me''=

File:Ahmad Jamal in Nashville, October 18, 2019.jpg, October 18, 2019]]

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.{{Cite book |last=Siek |first=Stephen |title=A Dictionary for the Modern Pianist |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2016 |isbn=978-0810888807 |pages=81–82}} The trio released the live album, At the Pershing: But Not for Me, which stayed on the Ten Best-selling charts for 108 weeks. Jamal's recording of the piece "Poinciana" was first released on this album.{{Cite news |last=Holley |first=Eugene |date=October–November 1994 |title=Ahmad Jamal: A Lasting Impression |volume=9 |pages=46–47 |work=American Visions |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asu&AN=503308987&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=April 17, 2023 |via=EBSCOHost}}

Perhaps Jamal's most famous recording, At the Pershing: But Not for Me, 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,[http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/ahmad-jamal/at-the-pershing-but-not-for-me/12247980/ Review by John Morthland], November 16, 2010. 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."{{sfn|Macnie|2010|p=28}} After the recording of the best-selling album But Not For Me, Jamal's music grew in popularity throughout the 1950s.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/ahmad-jamal|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013162056/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=7955|url-status=dead|title=Ahmad Jamal Musician – All About Jazz|archive-date=October 13, 2008|website=All About Jazz Musicians|access-date=April 17, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Fordham |first=John|author-link=John Fordham (jazz critic) |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal obituary |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/17/ahmad-jamal-obituary |access-date=April 18, 2023}} In 1962, The Three Strings disbanded and Jamal recorded Macanudo with a full orchestra. He then took a brief hiatus from performing.{{Cite news |last=Amorosi |first=A. D. |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal, Pioneering Jazz Pianist Who Influenced Both Miles Davis and Hip-Hop, Dies at 92 |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/ahmad-jamal-jazz-pianist-dead-1235585262/ |access-date=April 18, 2023}}

= Return to music and ''The Awakening'' =

In 1964, Jamal resumed performing after moving to New York, and started a residency at the Village Gate nightclub.{{Cite news |last=Cain |first=Sian |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal, influential jazz pianist, dies aged 92 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/17/ahmad-jamal-influential-jazz-pianist-dies-aged-92 |access-date=April 18, 2023}} He began recording a series of new trio albums with bassist Jamil S. Nasser starting that same year with Naked City Theme. Jamal and Nasser continued to play together from 1964 to 1972.{{Cite web |last1=Voigt |first1=John |last2=Kernfeld |first2=Barry |date=2003 |title=Nasser, Jamil (Sulieman) |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000322500 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J322500}} He also joined forces with Fournier (again, 1965–1966){{Cite web |last=Kernfeld |first=Barry |date=2003 |title=Fournier, Vernel (Anthony) |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000155700 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Grove Music Online}} and drummer Frank Gant (1966–77),{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Gary W. |date=2003 |title=Gant, Frank |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000573400 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Grove Music Online}} 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 M*A*S*H, 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 he used was a gift from someone in Switzerland. He continued to play and record throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in trios with piano, bass and drums, and occasionally expanded the group to include a guitarist or a percussionist. 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.Wang and Kernfeld, p. 1.{{Incomplete short citation|date=April 2023}}

= Later career =

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.{{Cite news |date=October 17, 2019 |title=Ahmad Jamal Makes Schermerhorn Appearance |work=Tennessee Tribune |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=139177155&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=EBSCOHost}} Jamal was the main mentor of jazz piano virtuosos Hiromi Uehara, known as Hiromi,{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18821935|title=Hiromi On Piano Jazz|newspaper=NPR.org|date=April 23, 2010|first=Grant|last= Jackson|access-date=February 6, 2017|language=en}} and Shahin Novrasli.{{Cite news|url=https://dlmediamusic.com/artists/ahmad-jamal/available-now-ahmad-jamal-ballades-shahin-novrasli-from-baku-to-new-york-city/|title=LEGENDARY AHMAD JAMAL RELEASES GORGEOUS,SOLO ALBUM ALONGSIDE HIS PROTÉGÉ, PIANIST SHAHIN NOVRASLI|newspaper=DLMediamusic.com|date=September 13, 2019|first=Maureen|last= McFadden|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/magazine/story/Interview/Quand-Ahmad-Jamal-rencontre-Shahin182313/|title=Quand Ahmad Jamal rencontre Shahin Novrasli|newspaper=QOBUZ.com|date=September 11, 2019|first=Marc|last=Zisman|language=fr}}{{Cite news|url= https://azertag.az/en/xeber/Shahin_Novrasli___presented_by_legendary_Ahmad_Jamal_in_Paris-1063641|title=Shahin Novrasli presented by legendary Ahmad Jamal in Paris|newspaper=Azertag.az|date=May 22, 2017|first=AZER|last=TAC|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.alleghenycitycentral.org/events/ahmad-jamal-presents-shahin-novralsi/|title=Ahmad Jamal presents Shahin Novrasli|newspaper=AlleghenyCityCenter.org|date=May 13, 2017|first=MCG|last= Jazz|language=en}}

File:-"Shahin Novrasli & Ahmad Jamal celebrate the releases of their respective albums". -Qobuz-.jpg]]

In 1986, Jamal sued critic Leonard Feather for using his former name in a publication."Pittsburgh Jazz Festival Swings into Town" (September 6, 1986), Pittsburgh Courier, p. 5.

Personal life and death

Jamal was married and divorced three times. As a teen-ager, he married Virginia 'Maryam' Wilkins; they had one daughter, who pre-deceased him. In the early 1960s, he married Sharifah Frazier, with whom he had one daughter; they divorced in 1982. That year, he married his manager, Laura Hess-Hay. They divorced two years later but she represented him for the rest of his life.{{cite web |last1=White |first1=John |title=Obituary: Ahmad Jamal |url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2023/04/23/obituary-ahmad-jamal/ |website=jazzjournal.co.uk |publisher=Jazz Journal |access-date=6 April 2025}}

On April 16, 2023, Jamal died from complications of prostate cancer at home in Ashley Falls, Massachusetts. He was 92.{{Cite web |last=londonjazz |date=April 16, 2023 |title=RIP Ahmad Jamal (1930–2023) |url=https://londonjazznews.com/2023/04/16/rip-ahmad-jamal-2023/ |access-date=April 16, 2023 |website=London Jazz News |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Seymour |first=Gene |title=Ahmad Jamal, jazz pianist with a spare, hypnotic touch, dies at 92 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/04/16/ahmad-jamal-jazz-pianist-poinciana-dead/ |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 16, 2023}}

Style and influence

File:Ahmad_jamal.jpg in 2007]]

{{quote box|width=23em|"Ahmad Jamal is one of the great Zen masters of jazz piano. He plays just what is needed and nothing more... every phrase is perfect."|—Tom Moon, NPR musical correspondentNorris, Michele. "1,000 Essential Recordings You Must Hear". All Things Considered (NPR). By Tom Moon. August 22, 2008. Radio.}}

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"{{mdash}}an effort to move jazz in the direction of classical music. He emphasized space between notes in his musical compositions and interpretations instead of focusing on the fast-paced bebop style.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal Dies: Cool Jazz Pioneer Was 92 |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/ahmad-jamal-dead-cool-jazz-pioneer-was-92-1235328447/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}

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".{{sfn|Crouch|2007|pp=95–99}} 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 Charlie Parker.{{sfn|Crouch|2007|p=95}} 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."{{sfn|Crouch|2007|p=95}} 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.""Ahmad Jamal: 'Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not For Me.{{'"}}| Basic Jazz Record Library, NPR. August 1, 2001. Radio. 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, Fred Hersch, Bill Charlap, and Ethan Iverson.{{sfn|Crouch|2007|p=99}}{{cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/2023/04/16/846207919/ahmad-jamal-obituary |title= Ahmad Jamal, measured maestro of the jazz piano, dies at 92 |first= Martin |last=Johnson |date= 16 April 2023 |website= npr.org |publisher= NPR |access-date= 1 May 2023}}{{cite web |url= https://jazztimes.com/features/lists/artists-choice-fred-hersch-on-great-piano-sounds/ |title= Artist’s Choice: Fred Hersch on Great Piano Sounds |first=Hersch |last=Fred |date= 3 August 2024 |website= JazzTimes.com |publisher= JazzTimes |access-date= 17 May 2025}}

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".{{sfn|Early|2001|p=79}} Miles used to send his crew to concerts of Jamal, so they could learn to play like Miles wanted it.{{Cite web |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal gestorben – Miles Davis war sein grösster Fan |url=https://www.srf.ch/kultur/musik/ahmad-jamal-gestorben-miles-davis-war-sein-groesster-fan |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) |language=de}} 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."{{sfn|Early|2001|p=80}} 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.{{sfn|Early|2001|p=79}} In addition, in a 1960 interview, Bill Evans said of Jamal, "I enjoy listening to him very much." Evans emphatically rejected the "cocktail pianist" criticism of Jamal, stating, "It's a real thing he's doing."Evans, Bill (1960). "The Ralph J. Gleason Interview". In Cerra, Steven A. (ed.) A Bill Evans Reader. Steven Cerra 2024. p. 99. ISBN 97988783486338.

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.{{sfn|Early|2001|p=81}} 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."Ahmad Jamal On Piano Jazz 1985". Piano Jazz. NPR. August 29, 2008. Radio.

File:Jamal Ahmad at Bozar, Brussels.jpg, Belgium (January 2014)]]

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."{{sfn|Macnie|2010}}

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."{{sfn|Macnie|2010|p=31}}

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;{{Cite web |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=In Concert Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-concert-mw0000188357 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=AllMusic}}{{Cite web |title=AHMAD JAMAL AND GARY BURTON IN CONCERT |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200013061 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Library of Congress}} with brass, reeds, and strings celebrating his hometown of Pittsburgh; with The Assai Quartet;{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Kevin |date=February 18, 1998 |title=Pianist Jamal in state for 2 shows |pages=1D, 5D |work=The Capital Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082729/ahmad-jamal-with-the-assai-quartet/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} and with tenor saxophonist George Coleman on the album The Essence Part One.{{Cite book |last1=Wang |first1=Richard |title=The Grove Dictionary of American Music |last2=Linde |first2=Brad |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-999062-7 |volume=4 |pages=426}}

Awards and honors

  • 1959: Entertainment Award, Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce Players{{Cite web |title=CMOA Collection |url=https://collection.cmoa.org/objects/92611cab-0a61-497d-81b8-9ebaaf29440d |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=Collection.cmoa.org |language=en}}
  • 1980: Distinguished Service Award, City of Washington D.C., Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution{{Cite web |title=Ahmad Jamal: AWARDS |url=https://ahmadjamal.com/awards |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=AHMAD JAMAL |language=en-US}}
  • 1981: Nominee for Best R&B Instrumental Performance ("You're Welcome", "Stop on By"), 24th Annual Grammy Awards{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/24th-annual-grammy-awards|title=1981 GRAMMY WINNERS : 24th Annual GRAMMY Awards|website=Grammy.com|access-date=April 17, 2023}}
  • 1986: Mellon Jazz Festival Salutes Ahmad Jamal, Pittsburgh.{{Cite web |title=FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ |url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19960621-1996-06-21-9606210180-story.html |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=Daily Press|date=June 21, 1996 }}
  • 1987: Honorary Membership, Philippines Jazz Foundation
  • 1994: American Jazz Masters award, National Endowment for the Arts
  • 2001: Arts & Culture Recognition Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women
  • 2001: Kelly-Strayhorn Gallery of Stars, for Achievements as Pianist and Composer, East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce{{Cite web |title=East Liberty's Wall of Fame |url=https://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010507gallerylist9.asp |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=old.post-gazette.com |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128052139/http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010507gallerylist9.asp |url-status=dead }}
  • 2003: Inductee, American Jazz Hall of Fame, New Jersey Jazz Society{{Cite web |title=Jazz news: American Jazz Hall of Fame |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/american-jazz-hall-of-fame/ |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}
  • 2003: Gold Medallion, Steinway & Sons 150 Years Celebration (1853–2003){{Cite web |title=Ahmad Jamal receives a Lifetime Achievement award from Jazz Journalists Association|website=Jazzineurope.mfmedia.nl |url=https://jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl/2019/05/ahmad-jamal-receives-lifetime-achievement-award-from-jazz-journalists-association/ |date=May 2, 2019|access-date=April 17, 2023 |language=en-GB}}
  • 2007: Living Jazz Legend, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts{{Cite web |date=April 10, 2023 |title=Pianist Ahmad Jamal's music career is one of great discovery |url=https://www.knkx.org/jazz/2023-04-10/pianist-ahmad-jamals-music-career-is-one-of-great-discovery |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=KNKX Public Radio |language=en}}
  • 2007: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Government of France{{Cite news |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal dies at 92: Acclaimed jazz pianist who influenced Miles Davis |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65295893 |access-date=April 17, 2023}}
  • 2011: Down Beat Hall of Fame, 76th Readers Poll{{Cite web |title=DownBeat Archives |url=https://downbeat.com/archives/detail/downbeat-hall-of-fame |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=Downbeat.com}}
  • 2015: Honorary Doctorate of Music, The New England Conservatory{{cite web|title= NEC Honorary Doctor of Music Degree|url= https://necmusic.edu/news/meet-our-2023-commencement-speaker-and-honorary-degree-recipients|date=2022|work=New England Conservatory of Music|access-date=April 20, 2023}}
  • 2017: Lifetime Achievement Award, 59th Annual Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy
  • 2018: International Eddie Rosner Leopolis Jazz Music Award, Leopolis Jazz Fest, Lviv{{Cite web|url=https://leopolisjazz.com/en/award|title=International Music Award "Leopolis Jazz Music Awards" – Leopolis Jazz Fest|website=Leopolisjazz.com|access-date=April 17, 2023}}

Discography

class="wikitable sortable"
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). Released in 1959.

|{{Cite magazine |date=October 5, 1959 |title=New Releases |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SwoEAAAAMBAJ&q=The+Piano+Scene+of+Ahmad+Jamal+1959&pg=PA43 |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |page=43 |via=Google Books}}

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)

|[http://www.ahmadjamal.net/Discography_Ahmad_Jamal.html Ahmad Jamal discography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527035512/http://www.ahmadjamal.net/Discography_Ahmad_Jamal.html|date=May 27, 2012}} accessed May 24, 2012{{Cite news |date=January 22, 1959 |title='Hypnotic' Piano Music by Ahmad Jamal, 'Sophisticate of Jazz' |work=The Age |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123083981/hypnotic-piano-music-by-ahmad-jamal/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1958

|Ahmad's Blues

|Chess

|Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert

|{{cite web |title=Ahmad Jamal: Ahmad's Blues |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ahmads-blues-mw0000118023 |access-date=January 14, 2019 |website=AllMusic}}

1958

|At the Pershing: But Not for Me (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

|{{Cite web |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing, Vol. 2 Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ahmad-jamal-at-the-pershing-vol-2-mw0000874158 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=AllMusic}}

1958

|Ahmad Jamal Trio Volume IV

|Argo

|Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert

|{{Cite web |last=Yanow |first=Scott |title=Ahmad Jamal Trio, Vol. 4 Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ahmad-jamal-trio-vol-4-mw0000896855 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=AllMusic}}

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)

|{{Cite magazine |date=September 26, 1964 |title=Ahmad Jamal: Poinciana |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/64/Record-Mirror-1964-09-26-S-OCR.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror |issue=185 |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401225243/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/64/Record-Mirror-1964-09-26-S-OCR.pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2023}}

1959

|Jamal at the Penthouse

|Argo

|With Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums), orchestra; in concert

|{{Cite book |last1=Yanow |first1=Scott |title=All Music Guide to Jazz: The Experts' Guide to the Best Jazz Recordings |last2=Ginell |first2=Richard S. |publisher=Miller Freeman Books |year=1998 |isbn=0879305304 |editor-last=Erlewine |editor-first=Michael |location=San Francisco |pages=585–587 |chapter=Ahmad Jamal}}

1960

|Happy Moods

|Argo

|Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums)

|{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1962 |title=Wax Works – Happy Moods |work=California Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082334/wax-works-happy-moods/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1960

|Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet

|Argo

|Quintet, with Ray Crawford (guitar), Joe Kennedy (violin), Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums)

|{{Cite news |last=Ethier |first=Rolly |date=March 6, 1961 |title=The Record Shop |work=North Bay Nugget |location=Ontario, Canada |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082572/the-record-shop-listen-to-the/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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

|

1962

|Ahmad Jamal at the Blackhawk

|Argo

|Trio, with Israel Crosby (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums); in concert

|{{Cite news |last=Vacariu |first=Earl |date=October 31, 1962 |title=Tells Medics To Cut Talk In Surgery – End of Original Jamal Trio |work=The Akron Beacon Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082121/tells-medics-to-cut-talk-in-surgery/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1962

|Macanudo

|Argo

|With orchestra arranged and conducted by Richard Evans

|{{Cite news |date=April 21, 1963 |title=A Look at the Records |work=Hartford Courant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/240961594/?terms=Macanudo%20%22Ahmad%20Jamal%22&match=1&clipping_id=123081485 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1964

|Naked City Theme

|Argo

|Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Chuck Lampkin (drums); in concert at the San Francisco Jazz Workshop

|{{Cite news |last=Colton |first=Larry |date=January 28, 1965 |title=Caught In A Spin |work=Portland Press Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082035/caught-in-a-spin/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1965

|The Roar of the Greasepaint

|Argo

|Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Chuck Lampkin (drums)

|{{Cite news |last=Stern |first=Harold |date=June 14, 1965 |title=For the Record |work=Macon News |location=Macon, Georgia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081977/for-the-record/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1965

|Extensions

|Argo

|Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums)

|{{Cite news |last=Ober |first=Chick |date=December 24, 1965 |title=Album By Errol [sic] Garner Scores With Old Tunes |work=Tampa Bay Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123080780/album-by-errol-garner-scores-with-old/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1965

|Rhapsody

|Cadet

|With Jamil Nasser (bass), Vernel Fournier (drums), orchestra

|{{Cite news |last=Lass |first=Don |date=June 25, 1966 |title=Record Previews – A Touch of Today – Rhapsody |work=Asbury Park Press |location=Asbury, New Jersey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081900/record-previews-a-touch-of-today/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1966

|Heat Wave

|Cadet

|Trio, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums)

|{{Cite news |last=Forester |date=April 13, 1967 |title=From the Rack – Heat Wave |work=The Age |location=Melbourne, Australia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081854/from-the-rack-heat-wave/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1967

|Cry Young

|Cadet

|With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), choir

|{{Cite news |last=Talbert |first=Bob |date=October 22, 1967 |title=Record Reviews – Jamal's Voices – Cry Young |work=The State |location=Columbia, South Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081807/record-reviews-jamals-voices/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1968

|The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful

|Cadet

|With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), choir

|{{Cite news |last=Lass |first=Don |date=November 9, 1968 |title=Record Previews – The Herman Herd |work=Asbury Park Evening Press |location=Asbury Park, New Jersey |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081660/the-herman-herd/ |access-date=April 18, 2023}}

1968

|Tranquility

|ABC

|With Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums)

|{{Cite news |last=B. W. |date=May 20, 1973 |title=Ahmad Jamal's '68 Sounds Survive Test of Time |work=Dayton Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081620/ahmad-jamals-68-sounds-survive-test/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1968

|Ahmad Jamal at the Top: Poinciana Revisited

|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 the Montreux Jazz Festival

|{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jack |date=March 10, 1973 |title=Those old tunes recalled in history series |work=The La Cross Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081576/impulse-outertimeinnerspace/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1973

|Ahmad Jamal '73

|20th Century

|With orchestra, vocals

|{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Mary |date=October 10, 1974 |title=Pianist Ahmad Jamal recording his own jazz |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082260/pianist-ahmad-jamal-recording-his-own/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1974

|Jamalca

|20th Century

|With orchestra, six vocalists and Jamil Nassar and Richard Evans (bass), and Brian Grice and Frank Gant (drums)

|

1974

|Jamal Plays Jamal

|20th Century

|Quartet, with Jamil Nasser (bass), Frank Gant (drums), Azzedin Weston (congas)

|{{Cite book |last=Lyons |first=Leonard |title=The 101 Best Jazz Albums: A History of Jazz on Records |publisher=Morrow Quill Paperbacks |year=1980 |isbn=0688087205 |location=New York |pages=252}}

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)

|{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Ronald E. |date=January 11, 1977 |title=Good Listening from O'Jays, Jamal |work=Tulsa World |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082408/good-listening-from-ojays-jamal/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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 at Oil Can Harry's, Vancouver

|

1978

|One

|20th Century

|With members of The Wrecking Crew

|{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Ace |date=February 9, 1979 |title=Inside the record world |work=Daily News |location=New York, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123082468/inside-the-record-world/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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 at Bubba's Jazz Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

|

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)

|{{Cite news |last=Heron |first=W. Kim |date=March 27, 1981 |title=Artistry at the ivories |work=Detroit Free Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123083792/artistry-at-the-ivories/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes

|

1982

|American Classical Music

|Shubra

|Quartet, with David Adeyola (bass), Payton Crossley (drums), Selden Newton (percussion); in concert at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall; also released by Black Lion as Goodbye Mr. Evans

|{{Cite web |title=AHMAD JAMAL |url=https://ahmadjamal.com/ |access-date=January 4, 2021 |website=AHMAD JAMAL}}

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)

|{{Cite book |last=Doerschuk |first=Robert L. |title=88: The Giants of Jazz Piano |publisher=Backbeat Books |year=2001 |isbn=0-87930-656-4 |location=San Francisco |pages=71–75}}

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! At Blues Alley

|Blues Alley Musical Society

|Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), David Bowler (drums) and Seldon Newton (percussion)

|

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

|Chicago Revisited: Live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase

|Telarc

|Trio, with John Heard (bass), Yoron Israel (drums); in concert

|

1994

|I Remember Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn

|Telarc

|Trio, with Ephraim Woolfolk (bass), Arti Dixson (drums)

|

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

|Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2

|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 at the Salle Pleyel, Paris. Released in 2003

|{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |edition=9th |pages=760–762 |author-link=Richard Cook (journalist) |author-link2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer)}}

1997

|Nature: The Essence Part Three

|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

|{{Cite news |last=Blangger |first=Tim |date=February 13, 1999 |title=Ahmad Jamal: Nature |work=The Morning Call |location=Allentown, Pennsylvania |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081145/ahmad-jamal-nature/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Robicheau |first=Paul |date=November 6, 1998 |title=Steppin' Out with Jamal and Harris |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123081095/steppin-out-with-jamal-and-harris/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

1998

|Ahmad Jamal with The Assai Quartet

|Roesch

|With Ephraim Wolfolk (bass), Arti Dixson (drums), Claude Giron (cello), Suzanne Lefevre (viola), Peter Biely (violin) and Jaroslaw Lis (violin); in concert at Yale University

|

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

|À L'Olympia

|Dreyfus

|Quartet, with George Coleman (tenor sax), James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums); in concert; also known as Olympia 2000 and Ahmad Jamal 70th Birthday. Released 2001

|

2002

|In Search of... Momentum

|Birdology

|Trio, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums). Released 2003

|

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 at the Arts Center of Enghien-les-Bains, France

|

2007

|It's Magic

|Birdology

|Quartet, with James Cammack (bass), Idris Muhammad (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion)

|{{cite web |last=Dryden |first=Ken |title=Ahmad Jamal: It's Magic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/its-magic-mw0000786561 |access-date=January 14, 2019 |website=AllMusic}}

2008

|Poinciana: One Night Only

|Stardust

|

|{{Cite news |date=June 19, 2010 |title=L'immortalité selon Ahmad Jamal |language=French |work=La Presse|first=Alain|last=Brunet |url=https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/festivals/festival-de-jazz/201006/19/01-4291623-limmortalite-selon-ahmad-jamal.php |access-date=April 18, 2023}}

2009

|A Quiet Time

|Dreyfus

|With James Cammack (bass), Kenny Washington (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion)

|{{cite web |last=Nastos |first=Michael G. |title=Ahmad Jamal: A Quiet Time |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-quiet-time-mw0001951177 |access-date=January 14, 2019 |website=AllMusic}}

2011

|Blue Moon

|Jazz Village

|With Reginald Veal (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion); nominated as Best Jazz Instrumental Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards

|{{cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Jon |title=Ahmad Jamal: Blue Moon – The New York Session/The Paris Concert |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-moon-the-new-york-session-the-paris-concert-mw0002293890 |access-date=January 14, 2019 |website=AllMusic}}

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

|{{Cite news |last=Fordham |first=John |date=August 21, 2014 |title=Ahmad Jamal/Yusef Lateef: Live at the Olympia review – spirited and funky |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/21/ahmad-jamal-yusuf-lateef-live-at-olympia-review |access-date=April 18, 2023}}{{Cite news |date=September 7, 2014 |title=Listening Post |work=The Buffalo News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123098691/listening-post/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

2013

|Saturday Morning: La Buissonne Studio Sessions

|Jazz Village

|With Reginald Veal (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion)

|{{Cite news |last=Fordham |first=John |date=September 26, 2013 |title=Ahmad Jamal: Saturday Morning – review |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/26/ahmad-jamal-saturday-morning-review |access-date=April 18, 2023}}

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

|{{cite magazine |last=Mercer |first=Michelle |date=September 2017 |title=Ahmad Jamal: Marseille |magazine=DownBeat |volume=84 |issue=9 |page=59}}{{Cite AV media notes |last=Jamal |first=Ahmad |title=Marseille |publisher=Jazz Village |type=CD liner notes |quote="Recorded and mixed in 2016"}}

2019

|Ballades

|Jazz Village

|Most tracks solo piano; three tracks with James Cammack (bass)

|

= Compilations =

  • 1967: Standard Eyes (Cadet)
  • 1972: Inspiration (Cadet){{Cite web |title=AHMAD JAMAL – Inspiration |url=https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/jamal-ahmad/inspiration |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=JazzMusicArchives.com |language=en}}
  • 1974: Re-evaluations: The Impulse! Years (Impulse!){{Cite web|website=Dustygroove.com |title=Ahmad Jamal : Reevaluations – The Impulse Years (LP, Vinyl record album) |url=https://www.dustygroove.com/item/381408/Ahmad-Jamal:Reevaluations-The-Impulse-Years |access-date=April 17, 2023 |language=en}}
  • 1980: The Best of Ahmad Jamal (20th Century){{Cite web |title=Ahmad Jamal – The Best Of Ahmad Jamal – VG+ Lp Record 1981 20th Century Fox USA Vinyl – Jazz |url=https://www.shugarecords.com/products/ahmadjamalthebestofahmadjamal-vglprecord198120thcenturyfoxusavinyl-jazz |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=Shuga Records}}
  • 1998: Cross Country Tour 1958–1961 (GRP Records/Chess){{Cite web |last=Pekar |first=Harvey |title=Ahmad Jamal: Cross Country Tour: 1958–1961 |url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/ahmad-jamal-cross-country-tour-1958-1961/ |date=April 25, 2019|access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=JazzTimes |language=en-US}}
  • 2005: The Legendary Okeh & Epic Recordings (1951–1955) (Columbia Legacy)
  • 2007: Complete Live at the Pershing Lounge 1958 (Gambit){{Cite news |last=Barns |first=Greg |date=January 5, 2008 |title=Jazz – Complete Live at the Pershing Lounge 1958 |work=The (Hobart) Mercury |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=200801051B06499811&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=EBSCOHost}}
  • 2007: Complete Live at the Spotlite Club 1958 (Gambit){{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Dave |date=March 29, 2019 |title=Ahmad Jamal Trio: Complete Live at the Spotlite Club 1958 |work=Jazz Journal |url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2019/03/29/ahmad-jamal-trio-complete-live-at-the-spotlite-club-1958/ |access-date=April 18, 2023}}
  • 2010: The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions 1956-62 (Mosaic Records){{cite web |title=AHMAD JAMAL: ‘The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions 1956-62 |url=https://www.soulandjazzandfunk.com/reviews/ahmad-jamal-the-complete-ahmad-jamal-trio-argo-session-1956-62-mosaic/ |website=soulandjazzandfunk.com |publisher=Soul&Jazz&Funk |access-date=6 April 2025}}
  • 2014: Complete Live at the Blackhawk (Essential Jazz Classics){{Cite web |title=The Complete 1962 Blackhawk Performances |url=https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/64993/ahmad-jamal/the-complete-1962-blackhawk-performances |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=Jazz Messengers |language=en-us}}
  • 2022: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1963–1964 (Jazz Detective){{Cite web |last=Jazz |first=All About |date=January 5, 2023 |title=Ahmad Jamal: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse (1963–1964) and (1965–1966) article @ All About Jazz |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/emerald-city-nights-live-at-the-penthouse-1963-1964-emerald-city-nights-live-at-the-penthouse-1965-1966/ |access-date=April 17, 2023 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}

= As sideman =

With Ray Brown

With Pat Metheny/Gary Burton/The Heath Brothers

  • All The Things You Are (Fruit Tree, 1999){{Discogs master|master=592494|name=All The Things You Are|type=album}}

With Shirley Horn

  • May the Music Never End (Verve, 2003){{Cite news |last=Eldredge |first=Richard L. |date=June 26, 2003 |title=New in Record Stores |work=Santa Cruz Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123093550/new-in-record-stores-jazz-may/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}

See also

  • {{Portal inline|Biography}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book |last=Crouch |first=Stanley |title=Considering Genius: Writings on Jazz |publisher=Basic Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-465-01512-2}}
  • {{cite book |editor-last=Early |editor-first=Gerald |title=Miles Davis and American Culture |year=2001 |publisher=Missouri Historical Society Press |isbn=978-1-883982-38-6}}
  • {{cite magazine |last=Macnie |first=Jim |date=March 2010 |title=Intricacy & Groove: At Home with Ahmad Jamal |magazine=DownBeat |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=26–31}}

{{refend}}

External links

  • {{Official website}}
  • [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=300 A Fireside Chat with Ahmad Jamal]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20081123052922/http://www.jazz.com/jazz-blog/2008/1/16/ahmad-jamal-s-poinciana-turns-50-today {{"'}}Poinciana' Turns Fifty"] by Ted Gioia ([http://www.jazz.com www.jazz.com])
  • [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15404388 Ahmad Jamal at NPR]
  • {{AllMusic|id=mn0000127369|title=Ahmad Jamal}}
  • {{Discogs artist}}
  • {{IMDb name|1054403}}

{{Ahmad Jamal|state=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamal, Ahmad}}

Category:1930 births

Category:2023 deaths

Category:20th-century African-American musicians

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