Art Works Podcast: Ahmad Jamal
This week's podcast begins our celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month with a conversation with legendary pianist and 1994 NEA Jazz Master, Ahmad Jamal. Jamal plays the piano with both subtley and virtuosity. As Miles Davis put it, Jamal allowed the "music to breath," and this use of space revolutionized jazz. According to cultural critic Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance only to Charlie Parker in the development of jazz after 1945. Jamal is both a performer who has the ability to make someone else?s song absolutely his own (his legendary recording of "Poinciana" stayed at top of the charts for over 100 weeks) and a composer who writes distinctive melodies that muscians love to play (just think of "Ahmad?s Blues," which was covered by many artists, including Miles Davis).
