The famous American jazz pianist, composer and conductor, Ahmad Jamal has died at the age of 92, his producer and manager Seydou Barry confirmed to France Musique on Sunday.
The artist’s widow, Laura Hess-Hey, has also confirmed his death, The Washington Post reported. He was suffering from prostate cancer, his daughter, Sumayah Jamal, told The New York Times.
A Grmmy Aaward for Lifetime Achievement
Ahmad Jamal has influenced the work of famous musicians such as trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist McCoy Tyner. He has notably received multiple awards during his seven-decade career. Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 2007, he had obtained a Grammy Award for his entire career in 2017.
Born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh in 1930, this African-American began his career in the 1940s, during the bebop revolution, and helped attract a wider audience to jazz. He had converted to Islam in 1950, when he adopted his new name. His style is described as based on surprise, ruptures, the use of silences, with romantic accents, with a phrasing that is both dynamic and light.
Over 100 weeks on the bestselling charts
The New Yorker magazine, in an article published last year on the occasion of the release of several unreleased recordings, pointed out that, in the 1950s, « his musical concept was one of the great innovations of the time, though its stripped down, bold originality has eluded many listeners”.
The album « Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me », released in 1958, marked the beginning of his success. It spent more than 100 weeks on the Billboard chart, the American ranking of the most popular titles
According to the New York Times, it became one of the best-selling instrumental records of the time. Dozens more followed in what The Times called a “jewel-studded catalog.” In an interview with The Times in late 2022, Ahmad Jamal said, « I’m still evolving, every time I sit down at the piano. “I always have new ideas,” he added.