Ahmad Jamal, the legendary jazz pianist and composer has passed away. His age was 92. He was one of the most famous musicians in America. He specialized in jazz, hard hop, modal jazz, cool jazz, and post-bop. He was also a famous music composer.
Who was Ahmad Jamal?
In 1930, Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh. As a youngster, he was challenged by his uncle to duplicate what he was playing on the piano.
From age 7, he began formal piano studies and quickly advanced. During a 2018 interview with Eugene Holley Jr. of Wax Poetics, he said, “I studied Art Tatum, Bach, Beethoven, Count Basie, John Kirby, and Nat Cole.
At the time, I was studying Liszt, so I had to be familiar with European and American classical music.
A rich spirit led me to another rich person, my teacher, Mary Cardwell Dawson, who established the country’s first African-American opera company.”
Jamal grew up in a Pittsburgh community with a rich jazz history. The legendary pianist’s Earl Hines, Errol Garner, and Mary Lou Williams lived near him.
As a child, Jamal delivered newspapers to Billy Strayhorn’s household. Jamal grew up in a Baptist family but converted to Islam during a tour stop in Detroit, where Art Tatum proclaimed him “an upcoming great.”
Image Source – the New Yorker
Ahmad Jamal’s Cause of Death
On 16th April 2023, Sunday, he breathed his last breath in Ashley Falls, Mass. It is very heartbreaking to hear this news.
The famous American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal played piano. Frederick Russell Jones was his real name. His talents were very impressive. Fans of his were very crazy about him. It is a very sad day for his fans to hear this news.
Jamal’s daughter Sumayah confirmed the veteran musician’s death, revealing that the musician passed away in Ashley Falls, Mass.
Ahmad Jamal career
At three, Jamal Ahmad began taking piano lessons, demonstrating his prodigious talent. In 1994, Nas’ classic rap song The World Is Yours featured Jamal’s tune I Love Music.
His contributions to music history were recognized with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, and he was named a ‘Living Jazz Legend’ by the Kennedy Center in 2007.
After graduating from high school, he began his professional training with opera director Mary Cardwell Dawson and went on to work with jazz legends Earl Hines and Erroll Garner. However, he despised the term ‘Jazz’ and described his genre as ‘American classical music.’
In the 1950s, Jamal became well known after signing a recording contract with Okeh as part of a trio called The Three Strings. His 1958 album At the Pershing: But Not For Me changed jazz history forever.
Over the next three decades, Jamal performed and recorded music in films such as The Bridges of Madison County and television shows such as MASH.
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