Artist: Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator.

Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1930, and it was there that he was immersed in the influence of jazz artists such as Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn,  Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner. Jamal also studied with pianist James Miller and began playing piano professionally at age fourteen, at which point he was recognized as a "coming great" by the pianist Art Tatum. 

Jamal made his first records in 1951 for the Okeh  label with The Three Strings (which would later also be called the Ahmad Jamal Trio. The other members were guitarist Ray Crawford and a bassist, at different times Eddie Calhoun (1950–52), Richard Davis (1953–54), and Israel Crosby (from 1954). The Three Strings arranged an extended engagement at Chicago's Blue Note but leaped to fame after performing at the Embers in New York City where  John Hammond saw the band play and signed them to Okeh Records. Hammond, a record producer who discovered the talents and enhanced the fame of musicians like Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Count Basie, also helped Jamal's trio attract critical acclaim. Jamal subsequently recorded for Parrot (1953–55) and Epic (1955) using the piano-guitar-bass lineup. 

The trio's sound changed significantly when Crawford was replaced with drummer Vernel Fournier in 1957, and the group worked as the "house trio" at Chicago's Pershing Hotel. The trio released a live album, At the Pershing: But Not for Me, which stayed on the Ten Best-selling charts for 108 weeks. Jamal's recording of the well-known song "Poinciana" was first released on this album. 

Perhaps Jamal's most famous recording, At the Pershing, was recorded at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago in 1958; it brought him popularity in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. Jamal played the set with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. The set list expressed a diverse collection of tunes, including "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from the musical Oklahoma! and Jamal's arrangement of the jazz standard "Poinciana". Jazz musicians and listeners alike found inspiration in the At the Pershing  recording, and Jamal's trio was recognized as an integral new building block in the history of jazz.

In 1964, Jamal resumed performing after moving to New York, and started a residency at the Village Gate nightclub. He recorded a new album,  Extensions, with bassist Jamil S. Nasser in 1965. Jamal and Nasser continued to play together from 1964 to 1972. He also joined forces with Fournier (again, 1965–1966) and drummer Frank Gant  (1966–77), among others. Until 1970, he played acoustic piano exclusively.

Further information about Ahmad Jamal is found at AhmadJamal.com.