biography
| name: |
Jamal, Ahmad
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originally Fritz Jones
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1930– )
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| biography:
| Jazz pianist, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He began playing the piano at three and joined the musicians' union at 14. In 1952 he became the house pianist at the Lounge of the Pershing Hotel in Chicago with a guitarist and bassist, and his distinctive style, characterized by melodic understatement, harmonic inventiveness, and rhythmic lightness, attracted a small but fervent audience, among them Miles Davis. In 1956–9, Jamal's trio consisted of Israel Crosby on bass and Vernell Fournier on drums, and the three musicians developed a telepathic interplay. A live recording of ‘But Not For Me’ at the Pershing Lounge in 1958 stayed on the national best-selling lists for 108 weeks, one of the greatest popular successes in jazz history. Over the years, his style has become more complex melodically and less lyrical, but his deft touch and subtle shadings remain. |
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