The Pop Corporation

The legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has left us, confirmed by his wife. Maybe not a household name, but every inch a legend. His playing was warm but minimal, a spiritual link between the cool jazz and bop eras of the genre. A titan in jazz, and hugely influential on his peers and those that followed.

The wonderful thing about swathes of Jamal’s work is that they found favour with neo-classical heads just as much as jazz fiends. Critics loved his “quiet, understated rhythmic style and dramatic use of silence between notes”, and he found favour with original compositions as well as reinterpretations of standards.

His group were the house band at the Pershing Hotel lounge – a Black owned business and venue of national repute, as well as a favourite spot of Billie Holiday and Sammy Davis Jr.

Jamal had million sellers in the bank, and his version of ‘Poinciana’ is a majestic piece of music that featured on an LP that sat on the Billboard charts for over 100 weeks. The track would become something of a signature for Jamal’s life, and a firm favourite at performances for decades. Listen to the version, live at the Pershing Hotel, right now.

He had lofty friends too. In his 1989 biography, Miles Davis singled out Jamal, saying that he was a big influence on his playing, stating that Ahmah Jamal “knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, and the way he phrases notes and chords and passages.” Davis added:  “All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.”

An obvious influence on Herbie Hancock, and more recently, finding himself being sampled by the likes of De La Soul. A generational talent to be sure, and one that straddled many.

“I’m still evolving, whenever I sit down at the piano,” Jamal said in an interview in ’22. RIP.