Khan Jamal
Encyclopedia
Khan Jamal is an American jazz vibraphone
and marimba
player. Ron Wynn
describes Jamal as "a proficient soloist when playing free
material, jazz-rock and fusion
, hard bop
, or blues
y fare."
Jamal began playing vibraphone during the mid-1960s. Later in the decade, he joined Cosmic Forces, then co-founded Sounds of Liberation with Byard Lancaster
during the early 1970s. During the 1970s, Jamal studied at Combs College of Music
and joined Sunny Murray
's group Untouchable Factor. In addition to leading his own groups, Jamal has performed with Ronald Shannon Jackson
's Decoding Society, Joe Bonner
, Billy Bang
, Charles Tyler
and others.
|2=Khan Jamal}} at allmusic
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
and marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
player. Ron Wynn
Ron Wynn
Ron Wynn is a music critic, author, and allmusic editor. Wynn was the editor of the first edition of The All Music Guide to Jazz , and from 1993 to 1994 served as the jazz and rap editor of the All Music Guide. Wynn is the former editor of New Memphis Star and the former chief jazz and pop music...
describes Jamal as "a proficient soloist when playing free
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
material, jazz-rock and fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
, hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
, or blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
y fare."
Jamal began playing vibraphone during the mid-1960s. Later in the decade, he joined Cosmic Forces, then co-founded Sounds of Liberation with Byard Lancaster
Byard Lancaster
Byard Lancaster is a jazz multi-instrumentalist whose primary instrument is the alto saxophone. He attended two colleges, one of them for music, before eventually deciding to pursue an education at the Berklee College of Music, then moving to New York...
during the early 1970s. During the 1970s, Jamal studied at Combs College of Music
Combs College of Music
Combs College of Music was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1885 as Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music by Gilbert Raynolds Combs, celebrated pianist,organist and composer....
and joined Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
's group Untouchable Factor. In addition to leading his own groups, Jamal has performed with Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson
Ronald Shannon Jackson is an American jazz drummer. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas.Jackson is notable for his unusual approach to his instrument, which draws as much inspiration from military and parade bands as from traditional jazz drumming.He is the only person to have recorded and performed...
's Decoding Society, Joe Bonner
Joe Bonner
Joe Bonner is a jazz pianist who is featured in The Bonner Party, a jazz quartet.He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and studied at Virginia State College, but indicates he learned more by musicians he worked with. In the seventies he played with Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, and Billy...
, Billy Bang
Billy Bang
Billy Bang was an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Biography:...
, Charles Tyler
Charles Tyler (musician)
Charles Lacy Tyler was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.Tyler was born in Cadiz, Kentucky and spent his childhood years in Indiana, New York City and Cleveland, Ohio...
and others.
Discography
- Drumdance to the Motherland (1972), Dogtown – re-issued 2006, Eremite MTE 050
- The River (1978), Philly JazzPhilly JazzPhilly Jazz was a small record label from Philadelphia. Sunny Murray's Apple Cores features Cecil McBee on bass, Frank Foster on soprano saxophone, pianist Don Pullen and guitarist Monnette Sudler. Hamiet Bluiett, Fred Hopkins, Arthur Blythe, and Oliver Lake also each appear on one track...
, with Bill Lewis - Infinity (1984), Stash 278
- Dark Warrior (1984), SteepleChaseSteepleChase RecordsSteepleChase Records is a jazz record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time...
- Three (1985), SteepleChase
- The Traveller (1985), SteepleChase
- Thinking of You (1986), StoryvilleStoryville RecordsStoryville Records is a large international record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has licensed and reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appeared on such labels as Paramount Records,...
- Speak Easy (1988), Gazell
- Don't Take No (1989), Vintage Jazz
- Percussion&Strings (1997), CIMP
- Cubano Chant (2001), Jambrio 1002
- Balafon Dance (2002), CIMP
- Cool (2002), Jambrio
- Black Awareness (2005), CIMP
- Return from Exile (2005), Philly JazzPhilly JazzPhilly Jazz was a small record label from Philadelphia. Sunny Murray's Apple Cores features Cecil McBee on bass, Frank Foster on soprano saxophone, pianist Don Pullen and guitarist Monnette Sudler. Hamiet Bluiett, Fred Hopkins, Arthur Blythe, and Oliver Lake also each appear on one track...
- Fire and Water (2007), CIMP
- Impressions of Coltrane (2009), SteepleChase
External links
at All About JazzAll About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
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