Why the pianist Ahmad Jamal who died on April 16 is a jazz legend

The immense figure of jazz, Ahmad Jamal, died at the age of 92. A true legend, he has inspired many musicians with his style, talent and longevity.

Ahmad Jamal, who passed away on April 16, was a great star of world jazz. The legend of the famous pianist, American composer and conductor began in 1958 thanks to the great success of his version of the title Poinciana. Another cult album, Awakening, released in 1970, is part of universal musical culture. Very quickly, Ahmad Jamal established himself as a source of inspiration for many artists… Starting with the greats of jazz, like Miles Davis, up to today’s hip-hop scene: a great many of his songs have been covered by rappers such as Nas, Common, Jeru The Damaja and Kanye West. Whatever the musical sector, Ahmad Jamal leaves behind an immense legacy for new generations.

A contrarian artist

Born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he grew up in a very modest African-American family. In 1950, he converted to Islam and changed his name. In the midst of the civil rights movement, and while many jazzmen take a public position, Ahmad Jamal does not place himself under any banner and stays away from “Black Power”.

In the 1950s, when be-pop musicians practiced a real one-upmanship in terms of playing speed, Ahmad Jamal affirmed to him a crystalline touch and a real praise of silence. Then, in the 1960s, when jazz experimented with abstraction through the free wave, the American musician took up the hits of Stevie Wonder. He was then accused of pouring into a purely commercial jazz. And finally, in the 1970s, jazz turned to fusion when he returned to his roots with his album The Awakening sober and acoustic.

An inimitable style at the service of the trio

The pianist that was Ahmad Jamal has never opted for the solo, except in his last album. The sophistication of the arrangements for the trio, its privileged form, gives the whole a very particular sound and will become its “signature”. His style is described as based on surprise, ruptures, the use of silences, with romantic accents, with a phrasing that is both dynamic and light. In the mid-1990s, Ahmad Jamal gave his trio new energy and color by integrating Manolo Badrena, a brilliant and explosive percussionist, the perfect counterpoint to his sophisticated playing.

The American pianist will have waited until his 89th birthday to make a solo album, Ballads… or almost, since the double bassist James Cammack, his faithful trio partner, makes a few appearances on three tracks.

To the word jazz, the pianist has always preferred that of ” american classical music“.” European classical music is represented by Bach, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin… American classical music is represented by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sidney Bechet“, he said to Telerama in 2017.

Outstanding longevity

With at least 80 albums on the clock, Ahmad Jamal crossed the musical artistic scene for seven decades. Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me, a disc released in 1958, marks the beginning of his success. It remains more than 100 weeks on the Billboard chart, the American ranking of the most popular titles. According to New York Times, it became one of the best-selling instrumental records of the time. A rare occurrence for jazzmen, unaccustomed to rubbing shoulders with the top of the charts. His secret? ” I live an exciting life, and when you live an interesting life, you keep discovering“, he told AFP in 2012.

How to explain this longevity? Pioneer, Ahmad Jamal has never stopped reinventing himself. ” The musicians flourish, build themselves. Some basic things are still there in my music, the melodic sense for example, but the density of sound has changed with age, and the rhythmic part becomes more elaborate“, he had continued. Despite the age, the child of Pittsburgh has never given up on music. In an interview with the New York Times at the end of 2022, Ahmad Jamal declared: ” I’m still evolving, every time I sit at the piano“.” I always have new ideas“.

An inspiration for all generations of musicians

Ahmad Jamal has influenced the work of musicians such as trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist McCoy Tyner. But I He is also a true mentor figure for the new generation of pianists. This is the case of the Azerbaijani pianist Shahin Novrasli whose musical complicity with the jazz giant was confirmed in 2016 in Paris. An obvious transmission took place between them during the recording of the album Emanation, co-produced by Ahmad Jamal.

In 2017, he received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Ten years earlier, he was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, where jazz still has its aficionados.


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