Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal , of his true name Frederick Russell Jones , is a Pianiste and a Compositeur of American Jazz born on July 2nd, 1930 with Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Little considered by the critics in his youth, in spite of (or because of) a real public passion, he knows the opposite situation today: not very known the general public, it enjoys a considerable reputation on behalf of the actors of the current scene jazz, who do not have of cease of the affubler more respectful nicknames: “The architect”, “the prophet”, “Ahmad the splendid one”, “the conjurer of the piano”, “the Master”, “the monster with the two right hands”…

Biography

Childhood

Ahmad Jamal was born the July 2nd 1930 with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its family is very modest: his/her father works in steel-works, his mother does housework. It is however it which will buy the piano on which the Frederick young person will make his beginnings.

Pittsburgh saw being born from very numerous at that time jazzmen of which much was early musicians (one can in particular quote the case of Erroll Garner, close to the Jones family - their mothers were friendly - who began at the 2 years age): it will be the case of the Frederick young person.

It seems indeed that its first contact with a Piano takes place at 3 years when his/her uncle, playing in the family living room, defies it to reproduce the musical sentence which he has just carried out. Frederick Russell Jones, which never yet posed the fingers on a keyboard, assoit then on the stool and reproduced note for note what his/her uncle had played.

The piano remains a play until the 7 years age, when it starts to study it seriously, by taking private lessons which enable him to be initiated with the traditional ones: “ At seven years, I started to study the piano. Eleven, I played Liszt and I was professional. To fourteen, I was registered with the trade union of the musicians. And at seventeen years, I started to make rounds. I would have liked to study with the Académie Juilliard, but it was necessary that I earn my living. ”. However, the relations between Fritz Jones and George Hudson will be degraded with the wire of time, because the temperament and the style of the pianist badly agree to the strict framework full orchestras.

In 1949, it is the rupture. Frederick Jones, (which refuses from now on the diminutive “Fritz” since the Second world war made the consonances Germanic unpopular to the the United States) assembles his first formation then: a Four-bit byte which it calls The Four Strings . Alas, this formation will be quickly dissolved fault of engagements. Very affected, Frederick Jones leaves Pittsburgh then to go to try its chance with Chicago.

Trios

Frederick Jones arrives at Chicago in 1950. At that time, engagements of musicians are strictly controlled by the local trade union, of which the goal is in particular to promote the musicians autochtones. To obtain an agreement for a simple engagement has required to be resident of Chicago for more than six months, and the conditions are even more strict to work as a leader. In waiting of an approval, Frederick Jones is seen constrained to carry out various trades: carrier in the department stores and even sweeping. Accepted little by little with the local scene, it starts by occurring in solo then it founds, in 1951, its first trio: The Three Strings with Ray Crawford (Guitar) and Eddie Calhoun (Double bass).

February 18th 1952, Frederick Russell Jones converts with the Islam and takes the name of Ahmad Jamal. Let us note that Ahmad is the cousin distant from Malcolm X, also converted to him at the same period.

In 1955, Israel Crosby replaces Eddie Calhoun.

In 1956, Ahmad modifies his trio for a formation Piano - low - battery, Walter Perkins substitute Ray Crawford. But Perkins will not remain a long time: it will take part only in 3 albums before being replaced by Vernell Fournier starting from 1957.

Ahmad Jamal has a stable trio finally, and success will be resounding in 1958 with the recording of the album Ahmad Jamal At the Pershing , whose version of Poinciana is remained legendary. Paradoxically, this success, which made it possible the talent of Jamal to exceed the restricted circle of the amateurs of jazz was then indirectly reproached to him by some critical, which compared it with a “pianist of cocktail”. Always it is that it enables him to concretize a project which was due to him in heart while opening, with Chicago, its own club of Jazz: Alhambra. The club is equipped with a studio of recording which will make it possible Ahmad Jamal to record “in residence” and to take its first steps as a producing.

The year 1962 will be difficult: Ahmad Jamal divorces, and dissolves the trio. He then leaves to settle with New York and benefits from it to carry out an old dream: to follow the courses of prestigious the Juilliard School. It is also at the time of its passage in “the large apple” that Ahmad will meet Jamil Nasser (Contrebasse), with which it will constitute a new trio starting from 1963.

However, and in spite of some recordings of quality, success is not always with go. If the musicians of which Jamal was surrounded do not miss a talent, they cannot make forget Israel Crosby and Vernell Fournier. In parallel, its efforts as a producer will not lead to any notable success and seem to divert it of its work of type-setter. In 1969, Ahmad Jamal is exhausted, and its financial position is bad. It then decides to take retreat: “ In 1969, I had again stopped playing: I was occupied by the recording company which I had created, and I especially was tired, wearied, not of the music but of the business: rounds, recording companies… ”. “ I was an angel among the devils '', the boppers exploded the notes. Me, I let them resound until the end of their life. ” In the Sixties, whereas the Jazz tries out the abstraction through the wave free, Jamal takes again the tubes of Stevie Wonder and is then seen marked to pour in a purely commercial jazz. Lastly, when the Seventies see the jazz turning to the fusion, returns to him to the sources with The Awakening , sober and acoustic. This reputation of artist in margin explains his lack of notoriety partly.

a perpetual search for peace : In spite of the true swirl which is its life, Ahmad Jamal frequently stated to seek peace: “ the search, it is that of peace, musical and interior. I cannot say, to recognize that I am in peace, they would be dangerous exhiber: a man in peace with itself does not say it. ” (Mohammed Ali, Malcolm X, Idris Muhammad…) but that did not always prevent the use of certain stereotypes in the press. He asserts being believing, but without proselytism, like an obviousness: “ Everyone isn't it believing? '' Of course, that influences me! Each philosophy invades the entire body, the spirit, the heart! '' It is impossible to rely on somebody who does not have any belief. If you do not have confidence, if you do not have faith in Creation - you must believe only something controls the Universe - a capacity which controls the Universe. A capacity which is neither you, neither me, nor Bill Clinton ”.

The improvisation

Like all the jazzmen, Ahmad Jamal is a improviser. But he was personally always opposed to the concept of improvisation like element differentiating the jazz from the other styles from music: “ All the musicians improvise - Mozart improvised. It is a fundamental error ( that' S.A. misconception ) to think that the improvisation is a specificity of the jazz, it is insane!. The final recording is not that the writing on a manuscript - all the remainder is only improvisation. That leaves their spirit. Bach improvised, Liszt improvised. The essence of the work of Mozart never will be known, because it written it forever. No musician is able to write all that leaves its spirit! Now, in the middle of the written music, there are sections from which you become a soloist. It is another aspect of the improvisation. But you are soloist only at one certain time, during which you do not have time to write what you play - And here what is attractive in the jazz: it is the Improvisation in the Improvisation! ”

The hearing of the trios of Ahmad Jamal indicates a great saving in means as well as an important work on the dynamic ones: it is frequent that the trio reaches a Climax with a very low sound volume. Jamal was frequently explained on this subject: “ No matter who can play extremely, but it is much more delicate to play gently by preserving same the Groove as by playing Fortissimo. ”

Today, the “sound” of Ahmad Jamal in what it has of single is well that of the trio: “ No musician has of advantage influenced the orchestral approach of the small formations during the 35 last years that Ahmad Jamal ”

Jamal is undoubtedly with Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans one of the most influential leaders of trios of the modern jazz.

The piano

If Ahmad Jamal is known to play exclusively on the pianos Steinway & Sons, he however played on electric keyboards for one period and uses still sometimes them, even if he seems to test a certain form of mistrust towards technology: “ For a long time, the electric piano left me completely indifferent - until I record, for my own company, Sony Stitt with Grady Tate with the battery and Herbie Hancock. the arranger had envisaged two electric guitars and Herbie did not like the overall sound. He thought that a piano Fender Rhodos would be appropriate more. I knew only the Wurlitzer, and it ensured me that I would like the sound of the Fender Rhodos. One thus made come a Fender Rhodos for Herbie. That did not convince me, but I all the same asked for to the representatives Fender Rhodos to give us to each one an electric piano. Mine remained at home for six months, I almost did not touch it. And then one day, I played in the Minnesota and the acoustic piano was abominable - it was not Steinway! Rather than this bad piano, I asked that one bring Fender to me… Nevertheless I remain faithful, at least to 90%, the acoustic piano. Nothing will replace the acoustic piano, if not a better acoustic piano. I reserve the electric piano for certain purposes, in spite of the many improvements which were carried out. ”. In addition, if no testimony reached us attesting of a meeting between Jamal and Erroll Garner, we know that Jamal met Art Tatum at the time of a Jam session in 1943: “ One tells '' that Tatum, then the supreme reference for all the pianists of jazz, would have been subjugated by the talents of the young virtuoso ”.

Artists influenced by Ahmad Jamal

The influence of Jamal on the scene Jazz is perceptible as of its second album: its version of Billy Boy raises such an enthusiasm then that many pianists (in particular Oscar Peterson, Monty Alexander and Red Garland) then will record in their turn the title while beginning again almost milked for feature certain sentences of the play of Jamal.

Lastly, if Ahmad Jamal influenced good number of jazzmen, none of them is as famous as Miles Davis, which testified to him to a considerable respect: “ I had been allured by the musical way of playing and concepts of Ahmad Jamal, that my Dorothy sister had made known to me in 1953. She had telephoned to me of a cabin of Chicago and had said to me: " Junior… I am listening to a pianist who is called Ahmad Jamal and I believe that you it aimerais." I had gone to hear it once I passed by there and his design of space, the lightness of his touch, his reserve, his way of phrasing notes, agreements and milked, had put full the sight of it to me. Moreover, I liked the topics which he played '' but also his original compositions. I liked his lyricism with the piano, his way of playing, the space which it used for the overall voicing its groups”

Admiration being perfectly reciprocal, the fact that Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis never played together remains a true mystery musicologic, comparable with the “not-relation” Schubert - Beethoven, the more so as several elements suggest a complicity of the two musicians:

the orchestra of George Hudson played Saint-Louis at the time where Davis lived there, it is thus probable that Davis heard Jamal when this last was still very young.

Davis declared on several occasions that “ absolute happiness would be to find a pianist who would be the combination of Ahmad Jamal and Bill Evans ”.

Of many titles present on the recordings of Davis is also found on those of Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal sometimes made it clear that Miles and being to him each one in a role of leader, it would not have been comfortable to make them play together: “ When you are a leader as I was it, as Cannonball was it after having left Miles, and like itself was Miles, it can have existed of the attempts to make us play together, but that never arrived. On my side, I was too occupied with my group trying to make known it, I anything else made only be the leader, like Miles and Cannonball ”

Rewards

Ahmad Jamal received very many rewards, one can in particular quote:

a Entertainment Award of the chamber of commerce of Pittsburgh in 1959
the Jazz price of radio station KCOH (Houston) in 1973
a Distinguished Service Award of the Smithsonian Institute (Washington) in 1980
the mayor of Providence (Rhode Island) gave the key of the city to him in 1980
a Merit Award of the Art Directors' Club in 1986 for the album DIGITAL Works
It is proclaimed “Citizen of honor” of town of Memphis in 1993
It received a letter of congratulations of Bill Clinton in 1993
a Duke Ellington Fellow Award by the Université Yale in 1994
a American Jazz Masters Fellowship Award the same year
the magazine Jazzman offers the to him Choc of the year in 1995 for the album The Essence, Part I . It also receives a Django d' Or for this same album
Its name appears on the American Jazz Hall off Famed of the New Jersey Jazz Society since 2003
It received a gold medal for the 150 years of the company Steinway & Sons in 2003

In a more anecdotic way, Ahmad Jamal belongs to Who' S American Who since 1960 and of Who' S Who of the American blacks since 1988.

Use of its music

Several topics of Ahmad Jamal are used in film of Clint Eastwood On the road of Madison ( Poinciana and Music, Music, Music , extracted the album But Not For Me )

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