Ahmad Jamal at SFJAZZ Summer Session Series at SFJAZZ Center

Pianist Ahmad Jamal brought a sense of space and subtlety to jazz improvisation that deeply affected Miles Davis and countless other jazz musicians inspired by them both. “He knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement,” said the trumpeter, whose lyrical less-is-more style was indebted to the elegant pianist who rose to international fame in the late 1950s with the success of his Live at the Pershing recording. Jamal has continued to refine and expand his music ever since, composing new music, exploring harmonies and sonorities and working with younger musicians who fuel him...

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Pianist Ahmad Jamal brought a sense of space and subtlety to jazz improvisation that deeply affected Miles Davis and countless other jazz musicians inspired by them both. “He knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement,” said the trumpeter, whose lyrical less-is-more style was indebted to the elegant pianist who rose to international fame in the late 1950s with the success of his Live at the Pershing recording. Jamal has continued to refine and expand his music ever since, composing new music, exploring harmonies and sonorities and working with younger musicians who fuel him. He performs for us at Davies Symphony Hall with a seamless quartet whose grooving sound is flavored by the New Orleans style of drummer Herlin Riley and bassist Reginald Veal and the polyrhythmic pop of Puerto Rican-born percussionist Manolo Badrena.

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