When asked what he's thinking about when he's at the piano, NEA Jazz Master and Kennedy Center Jazz Legend Ahmad Jamal replies, “Those songs that come up on my recordings or my concerts, sometimes I pull some things that are very distant and written years before I was here, things written by Mozart. That's the wonderful thing about music, the ability to interpret the good things beyond the wildest dreams of the composer. I'm doing what I do based on three different eras of music. The first era was as a fan, as a kid listening to Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Jimmie Lunceford. Then I was also in my teenage years, listening to the revolutionary works of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Then I'm still around in the so-called electronic age. So I am drawing on a great body of work. The greater the body of work, the broader the results."
AAJ contributor Andrew Velez's profile of this iconic pianist reveals a humble man who simply continues to make the music that moves him, while all those around him marvel at his continued innovation and innate musical choices.
Check out Ahmad Jamal: It's Magic at AAJ today!
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