His death follows a period of cancer, his agent told the newspaper.
Jamal, born Frederick Russell Jones, was a jazz innovator known for a minimalist and restrained playing.
His career spanned seven decades. The commercial breakthrough came in 1958 with the album “Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me”. Among the more talked about works is his arrangement of the jazz standard “Poinciana”.
Ahmad Jamal was honored with the Lifetime achievement award at the 2017 Grammys.
In an interview with The New York Times last year, Jamal said:
— I’m still developing when I sit down at the piano.
— I still come up with new ideas.