17 August Tuesday : Ahmad Jamal Quartet / Topkapi Palace

Mattress Full: 45,00 TL, Mattress Student: 30,00 TL
Numbered Chair Full: 67,00 TL, Numbered Chair Student: 32,00 TL


Ahmad Jamal

Born in 1930 in Pittsburgh, a place which is home to many musicians, Ahmad Jamal (Freddy Fritz Jones) was a child prodigy. He started studying piano at three years of age. He says at that age, his uncle Lawrence who was playing the piano in his parents’ living room stopped and challenged him to duplicate what he was doing. His first time at a piano, he sat down and played note for note what he had heard. At seven years of age, he began to study with the well-regarded African-American concert singer and teacher Mary Caldwell Dawson and then, with pianist James Miller. He joined the musicians union at the age of 14.

Ahmad Jamal, after touring with George Hudson’s Orchestra, worked with Joe Kennedy, Jr. and began his recording career in 1951 with “Ahmad’s Blues”. It has been heard on stage and recorded by many others as his arrangement for “Billy Boy” and his composition “New Rhumba” was also recorded and performed by many others, most notably Miles Davis, who praises Mr. Jamal's special artistic qualities and cites his influence in his autobiography. In 1994, he received the American Jazz Masters award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The same year he was named a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale University. Ahmad Jamal, a major influence on Davis, has impressed fellow musicians and record buyers alike with his innovative, minimalist approach. He had an impact far beyond his favored piano trio format. As an arranger, he thought of small groups in orchestral terms and led tightly focused ensembles, playing as a model of economy. He proves his virtuosity once in again in his latest album “Quiet Time”.