Frederick Russell Jones (Ahmad Jamal) was born July 2nd, 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA. He is an American jazz pianist, arranger, teacher, and jazz theoretician. He began playing the piano at the age of three, and began his formal training at age seven. When Freddy "Fritz" Jones was 32 he converted to Ahmadiyya Islam, and officially changed his name to Ahmad Jamal. His first professional job was with the George Hudson Orchestra at age 18. This exposure helped him gain critical acclaim for his solos. According to Stanley Crouch (jazz critic), Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker. For the past 5 decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. This video is "Darn That Dream" from 1959. Its sad to say, but there is not much opportunity left to catch a live performance of this musical prodigy.
*Ahmad Jamal plays Steinway pianos exclusively*
http://www.ahmadjamal.net/
Smelly Dog
Monday, December 6, 2010
Ahmad Jamal
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I once heard that Ahmad jamal feels uncomfortable with the "jazz" label. He has coined himself an "American classical" musician. He thinks the term jazz downgrades his music.
ReplyDelete