![]() I just picked out songs that I favored it wasn’t an attempt to do anything but use the repertoire and use the things that I had learned and heard in my growing-up years. Were you purposely trying to pick out songs that weren’t played as frequently? Or did you just like those songs?ĪJ: No, I just played songs that I liked. JA: There’s a bunch of tunes you played that are really rare, such as “Music, Music, Music”, tunes that you may have the only jazz version of. Philadelphia was a great area for music, but that’s all part of Pennsylvania. Jimmy Smith is from Pennsylvania as well. That’s all the same I kind of group them all as “Pennsylvanians.” Philadelphia had some wonderful artists, and Harrisburg produced one of the great bassists of all time, who I was just thinking about recently, Dr. The great music town was Pittsburgh.”ĪJ: (Lots of laughter) They had some great musicians too. JA: A couple months ago, Jimmy Heath came to NYU to give a class, and our teacher asked, “What was it like growing up in Philadelphia?” And he said, “I don’t want to talk about that. And you can’t forget Billy Eckstine and Kenny Clarke…All those masters come from Pittsburgh. She went to the same high school I went to. I think she’s from Georgia, but she came to Pittsburgh when she was three or four years old. It goes on and on and on.ĪJ: Mary Lou came there when she was very, very young – a lot of people think she’s from Pittsburgh…but she came there when she was very, very young. But he’s a Pittsburgh personality, as well as Stanley Turrentine. The list goes on and on and on…George Benson, who was a much later personality that developed in Pittsburgh. ![]() He was a great pianist…And Earl Wild, the great exponent of Liszt a great interpreter of Franz Liszt…And Gene Kelly the tap dancer. So we have Billy Strayhorn and Erroll Garner and Earl Hines and Roy Eldridge, Ray Brown, Art Blakey, and a pianist that you’ve probably never heard of, Dodo Momarosa. ![]() As you know I…well you don’t know (laughter), but I sold papers to Billy Strayhorn’s family when I was seven years old. So working with groups in Pittsburgh, and what she sent me, and the environment under which I grew up in. So my Aunt Louise was the one responsible for me acquiring that vast repertoire of standards…It’s a combination of what she did and also working around one of the great cities for musicians, or people who were developing a career in music: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was sent those things by her gracious efforts from 10 years old and on. I’m curious how you were originally introduced to the great standards.Īhmad Jamal: My aunt, who was an educator in North Carolina, sent me many, many compositions via sheet music, and that’s how I gained the vast repertoire that you hear me indulge in. Joe Alterman: One of the things that I’ve always loved about your playing is your repertoire. It was an absolute thrill to speak with one of my heroes, the great Ahmad Jamal, and I hope you enjoy reading the following bits from our conversation. He was extremely kind, honest, thoughtful, and giving in his answers. ![]() Jamal, and this past Saturday I was given that opportunity. For years, I've had many questions that I've wished I could ask Mr. Not only has he been one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, but his music has been instrumental (no pun intended) in my development as a musician in fact, it was his recording of "Like Someone In Love" that got me hooked on jazz. : This past Saturday, I had the honor and pleasure of interviewing the great Ahmad Jamal.
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