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Artist
Ahmad Jamal
12+ albums
jazzpianojazz pianoHard Bopahmad jamal
about
Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 2 July 1930; died 16 April 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.[2] He was a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master and won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his contributions to music history. While he invariably recorded as part of a trio or quintet, some releases were as Ahmad Jamal Trio and Ahmad Jamal Quintet. A child prodigy who began to play the piano at the age of three, he began formal studies at age seven. While in high school, he completed the equivalent of college master classes under the noted African-American concert singer and teacher Mary Cardwell Dawson and pianist James Miller. He joined the musicians’ union at the age of 14, and he began touring upon graduation from Westinghouse High School at the age of 17, drawing critical acclaim for his solos. In 1951 he formed his first trio, The Three Strings. Performing at New York’s The Embers club, Record Producer John Hammond “discovered” The Three Strings and signed them to Okeh Records (a division of Columbia, now Sony, Records.) In 1956, Jamal, who had already been joined by bassist Israel Crosby in 1955, replaced guitarist Ray Crawford with a drummer. Working as the “house trio” at Chicago’s Pershing Hotel in 1958, drummer Vernell Fournier joined this trio and Mr. Jamal made an on-location recording for Arg
