The illustrious pianist Ahmad Jamal used to say that he played “American classical music”. The word “jazz” did not suit him. He wanted to elevate his art to the rank of the great performers and composers of ancient times. He succeeded without difficulty since he was one of the craftsmen of a unique form of improvisation that Miles Davis himself praised. Ahmad Jamal left us on April 16, 2023 at the age of 92.
Born in Pittsburgh on July 2, 1930, Ahmad Jamal was a prodigy. He often liked to recall that he was already strumming at the age of 3. His abilities will make him famous. Cradled throughout his youth by the works of Debussy, Liszt or Ravel, he nourished himself with these demanding repertoires without, however, neglecting the prowess of his contemporaries Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, Erroll Garner… His desire to distinguish himself encourages them to form their own trio. In the heart of the 1950s, he invited Vernel Fournier and Israel Crosby to join him. Their complicity will do the rest. Ahmad Jamal made history with an album recorded live in Chicago’s “Pershing Jazz Club” on January 16, 1958. This disc sold over a million copies.
Until the end of the 1960s, Ahmad Jamal was celebrated as a goldsmith of swing melody. Its percussive delicacy caused a sensation but denoted as the musical landscape was gradually moving towards pop-music. Times are tough for pioneers struggling to capture the interest of a changing audience. Ahmad Jamal will humbly recognize having experienced difficult times but will never give up creating, composing, magnifying his works. However, it will take the boost of a French producer, Jean-François Debeir, for the name of Ahmad Jamal to rebound with force in the early 90s. From then on, recordings and performances on the biggest stages will multiply. .
Both early fans and new admirers once again acclaim this dashing septuagenarian in unison, who welcomes this renewed interest in his virtuoso pianistic agility. At the Olympia, at the Palais des Congrès, at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, he received the warm cheers of Parisian spectators amazed by so much grace, inventiveness and harmonic energy. Ahmad Jamal has amazed crowds for 70 years. His elegance, his touch, his chosen words, his wide smile, his serenity, will remain the indelible imprint of his major cultural contribution to the 20th and 21st centuries.