Ahmad Jamal's "It's Magic" is Record of the Year and Best Jazz of the Year

It's Magic is Jazzman Magazine's Record of the Year

Ahmad Jamal on Tour in Continual Support of the Album

New York, NY Preeminent jazz piano master Ahmad Jamal's latest CD, It's Magic was chosen today as one of the Best Jazz of the Year on NPR's Best CDs of 2008 series. It's Magic also won Record of the Year in the renowned annual Jazzman Magazine (France)s CHOC de LAnne.

Mr. Jamal recently won Les Victoires du Jazz, Frances equivalent of the American Grammy Awards, for Best International Album (Album International de Production Franaise).

It's Magic, which was released on June 10, 2008, has been hailed by critics as a career highlight, gracing the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart, the iTunes Jazz Top 10, and peaked at #2 on the Jazz Week Radio Chart. One of the most influential pianists in jazz, Ahmad Jamal is also the musics first cross-over artist his recording of Poinciana was a chart topping hit single in 1958.

Last year, the French government has inducted Ahmad Jamal into Order of the Arts and Letters, naming him Officier de LOrdre Des Arts et Des Lettres (Officer, Order of Arts and Letters). Mr. Jamal is also a recipient of National Endowment for the Arts American Jazz Masters Fellowship.

Ahmad Jamal is not just a living legend of jazz; he is one of the most inspired and inspiring artists in music today. An important and influential figure in jazz history (he was a key influence on Miles Davis in his formative years, and countless others), he introduced the concepts of space, silence and dramatic dynamics into jazz performance. He continues to influence diverse generation of artists from Herbie Hancock, Hiromi to Matthew Shipp.

Ahmad Jamal is currently on tour in support of It's Magic; after finishing his European tour performing at the prestigious concert hall, Salle Pleyel, on December 13, 2008, Mr. Jamal will return home to perform for a special week at Blues Alley (December 26 31, 2008) in Washington, DC.

Mr. Jamal will continue to tour through 2009, making stops in Russia, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland; and in the States, San Francisco, CA (Herbst Theatre), Philadelphia, PA (U. Penn Annenberg Performing Arts Center), and Chicago, IL (Intl African Festival of the Arts), among many others, with more dates to be announced.