The legendary pianist died on Sunday at his home in Massachusetts, his manager and producer announced.
American jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal died on Sunday April 16, his producer and manager Seydou Barry announced to France Musique. Aged 92, he succumbed to the aftermath of a long illness. “in the arms of his daughter”said Seydou Barry who was in the house of the artist in Massachusetts.
>> The solitary “Ballades” of pianist Ahmad Jamal
Born on July 2, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Ahmad Jamal, born Frederick Russell Jones, turned out to be a precocious pianist. Indeed, from the age of three, he is able to reproduce melodies heard on the family piano. Benefiting from a classical training, he studied several French composers, thus devoting an immense admiration to Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.
He joined the musicians’ union (American Federation of Musicians) at age 14 and toured the United States at age 17. He will only return very little in the end despite a certain attachment. His career took off quickly: orchestras, big bands, quartet (The Four Strings then renamed The Three Strings), Ahmad Jamal recorded his first 78 rpm in 1951.
First album sold over a million copies
At the age of 23, the pianist recorded his first successes with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier and gave a landmark concert in 1958 at the Pershing, a jazz club in Chicago. The disc which will follow, will be an enormous success sold with more than one million specimens, Ahmad Jamal Trio at the Pershing: But Not For Me.
After a tour in Africa, Ahmad Jamal sets up a club in Chicago, the Alhambra, then settles in New York, takes a break from his career as a pianist in 1962, for two years, before creating his own label, 20th Century and resume touring in 1970.
He also gave a memorable concert at the Maison de la radio on June 25, 1971, which can be heard on France Musique. In 1994, he recorded an album demonstrating his piano playing: Ahmad Jamal at home. Alone at the piano, this disc brings together a summary of his style as a pianist.
He then continued his concerts with a trio where we often find bassist James Cammack and various drummers, almost always from New Orleans, notably Idris Muhammad. He records his last album Balladsthe first solo piano, in 2019 at the age of 89.