Collection: Ahmad Jamal

Born Frederick Russell Jones on 2 July 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jamal began playing piano at age three. At age 14 he was already playing piano professionally and was recognised by Art Tatum as a coming great. He discovered Islam in his early 20s while touring Detroit in the 1940s and 1950s. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Ahmad Jamal in 1950. In 1949 he joined swing violinist Joe Kennedy's group Four Strings as pianist. This led to formation of his trio The Three Strings in 1950, which debuted at Chicago's Blue Note club and later became the Ahmad Jamal Trio. The trio initially consisted of piano, guitar, and bass. Guitarist Ray Crawford was replaced with drummer Vernel Fournier in 1957, significantly changing the group's sound.

The trio worked as the house trio at Chicago's Pershing Hotel. In 1958 they recorded At the Pershing: But Not for Me at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 107 weeks and remains one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. Miles Davis credited Jamal many times for influencing his own approach to music, saying in the late 1950s that all of his inspiration came from pianist Ahmad Jamal. Cultural critic Stanley Crouch called Jamal second in importance only to Charlie Parker in the development of jazz after 1945. Jamal emphasised the use of space and dynamics and worked closely with his bassist and drummer to achieve a tight and highly individual group sound. His style was airy, pared down, and tasteful, different from the bebop approach of Bud Powell. His playing revolutionised the use of time and space in jazz, and his extraordinary use of space, allowing the music to breathe, became a hallmark of his career. He recorded nearly 70 albums. Awards include NEA Jazz Masters (1994), Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend (2007), Down Beat Readers Poll Hall of Fame (2011), and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2017). He died 16 April 2023.