Jamil Nasser
Encyclopedia
Jamil Nasser, born George Joyner (June 21, 1932 – February 13, 2010) was an American jazz
musician. He played double bass
, electric bass
, and tuba
.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee
, Nasser learned piano from his mother as a child and started playing bass at age 16. As a student at Arkansas State University
, he led the school band, and played bass and tuba in bands while stationed in Korea
as a member of the U.S. Army. Following his discharge he played with B.B. King in 1955 and 1956.
He moved to New York City
in 1956, and played with Phineas Newborn
and Sonny Rollins
before the decade was over. He went on tour in Europe and North Africa
with Idrees Sulieman
in 1959, then went to Paris
and recorded with Lester Young
. He moved to Italy
briefly from 1961-62; after returning to New York he formed his own trio, playing with the ensemble until 1964. Following this he began work with Ahmad Jamal
; the two played together until 1972. He played with Al Haig
through the rest of the decade.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he did many sessions with musicians such as Clifford Jordan
, Jimmy Raney
, Harold Mabern
, Gene Ammons
and Hideaki Yoshioka. Nasser never recorded as a leader.
With Ahmad Jamal
With Al Haig
With Phineas Newborn
With Lou Donaldson
With Red Garland
With others
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician. He played double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Nasser learned piano from his mother as a child and started playing bass at age 16. As a student at Arkansas State University
Arkansas State University
Arkansas State University is a public university and is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System, the state's second largest college system and third largest university by enrollment. It is located atop on Crowley's Ridge at Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA...
, he led the school band, and played bass and tuba in bands while stationed in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
as a member of the U.S. Army. Following his discharge he played with B.B. King in 1955 and 1956.
He moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1956, and played with Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn, Jr. was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell. Newborn came from a musical family with his father, Phineas Newborn, Sr., being a blues musician and his younger brother, Calvin, a jazz guitarist...
and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
before the decade was over. He went on tour in Europe and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
with Idrees Sulieman
Idrees Sulieman
Idrees Sulieman was a bop and hard bop trumpeter. He studied at Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra...
in 1959, then went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and recorded with Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
. He moved to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
briefly from 1961-62; after returning to New York he formed his own trio, playing with the ensemble until 1964. Following this he began work with Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
; the two played together until 1972. He played with Al Haig
Al Haig
Alan Warren Haig was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop.Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey...
through the rest of the decade.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he did many sessions with musicians such as Clifford Jordan
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
, Jimmy Raney
Jimmy Raney
Jimmy Raney was an American jazz guitarist born in Louisville, Kentucky most notable for his work from 1951–1952 and 1962–1963 with Stan Getz and for his work from 1953–1954 with the Red Norvo trio, replacing Tal Farlow. In 1954 and 1955 he won the Down Beat critics poll for guitar...
, Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern is a hard bop and soul jazz pianist.Early in his career, Mabern played in Chicago with Walter Perkins' MJT + 3 in the late 1950s before moving to New York in 1959. Mabern has worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet , Donald Byrd, Miles Davis , J. J...
, Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
and Hideaki Yoshioka. Nasser never recorded as a leader.
As sideman
With Randy WestonRandy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
- Portraits of Duke Ellington (1989)
- Portraits of Monk (1989)
- Self Portraits (1989)
- Spirits of Our AncestorsSpirits of Our AncestorsSpirits Of Our Ancestors is an album by pianist, Randy Weston, and was recorded in 1991. While all of the compositions were penned by Weston himself, the music on the album is more specifically a collaborative arranging effort between Weston and arranger Melba Liston...
(1991) - Volcano Blues (1993)
With Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
- Extensions (1965)
- Heat Wave (1966)
- Tranquility (1968)
- The AwakeningThe Awakening (Ahmad Jamal album)The Awakening is an album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal featuring performances recorded in 1970 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating "By 1970, pianist Ahmad Jamal's style had changed a bit since the 1950s, becoming denser and...
(Impulse!, 1970) - FreeflightFreeflight (album)Freeflight is a live album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal featuring performances recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1971 for the Impulse! label...
(Impulse!, 1971) - OutertimeinnerspaceOutertimeinnerspaceOutertimeinnerspace is a live album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal featuring performances recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1971 for the Impulse! label...
(Impulse, 1971) - Jamal Plays Jamal (1974)
- Jamalca (1974)
- Essence of Ahmad Jamal, Pt. 1 (1995)
- Big Byrd: The Essence, Pt. 2 (1997)
With Al Haig
Al Haig
Alan Warren Haig was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop.Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey...
- Chelsea Bridge (1975)
- Strings Attached (1975)
- Ornithology (Progressive RecordsProgressive Records-Artists:*Harry Allen*Laurie Altman*Milt Buckner*Chris Connor*Alice Cooper*Buddy DeFranco*Tommy Flanagan*Don Friedman*Al Haig*Sir Roland Hanna*Hank Jones*Lee Konitz*Stan Mark*Red Norvo*Maddy Prior*Derek Smith*Steeleye Span*Sonny Stitt*U.K. Subs...
, 1977) - Portrait of Bud Powell (1977)
- Reminiscence (1977)
- Serendipity (1977)
With Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn, Jr. was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell. Newborn came from a musical family with his father, Phineas Newborn, Sr., being a blues musician and his younger brother, Calvin, a jazz guitarist...
- Phineas' Rainbow (1956)
With Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
- Lou Takes OffLou Takes OffLou Takes Off is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Donaldson's Sextet with Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Sonny Clark, Jamil Nasser, and Art Taylor...
(Blue Note RecordsBlue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, 1958)
With Red Garland
Red Garland
William "Red" Garland was an American hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom.-Beginnings:...
- All Mornin' LongAll Mornin' LongAll Mornin' Long is a jazz album by pianist Red Garland and his quintet. It was originally issued in 1957 under the Prestige label and catalogued as PRLP 7130. It features only three pieces, which belong to the hard bop sub-genre and distinguish themselves by being fast-paced and bluesy...
(1957) - Dig It!Dig It!Dig It! is a 1958 jazz album by The Red Garland Quintet. It also features John Coltrane at the saxophone. It was recorded during 1957 and 1958, and released in 1958 on the Prestige label as PRLP 7229.-Track listing:...
(Prestige RecordsPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, 1958)
With others
- Eric DolphyEric DolphyEric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
: Berlin Concerts (Enja, 1961) - George ColemanGeorge ColemanGeorge Edward Coleman is an American hard bop saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, known chiefly for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s.-Biography:...
: I Could Write a Book: The Music of Richard Rodgerss (Telarc, 1998)