Jazz hands

‘Play like Jamal!”

Miles Davis’ session pianists used to hear this command all the time. And they knew too well to whom the superstar trumpeter referred. In his formative years, Davis idolized master jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. Today, rappers do the same. Jay-Z, Nas and Common have all sampled songs by the 79-year-old Pittsburgh native who became a child prodigy on the keys before hitting his teens. By the early 1950s he had turned a modest trio into a de facto jazz orchestra with a big, bold and dynamic sound that caught the attention of jazz and pop fans the world over.

As Jamal’s first new record in more than three years, 2008’s critically-acclaimed It’s Magic signaled to all that this innovative icon has no intentions of slowing down, much less retiring. On Nov. 19, Jamal and his band perform live at Manship Theatre. He calls it a “small ensemble.” Somehow the terms “trio” or “quartet” just don’t do his widescreen music justice.

“I have a big orchestra in my head all the time,” says Jamal, whose early influences and opportunities were found in the popular big bands of the Northeast. “Growing up in Pittsburgh was a huge inspiration, and the scene there is very much in the spirit of the music of East St. Louis, Memphis or New Orleans.”

Jamal does recall how he felt when first playing the piano—he was all of 3 years old—but it is difficult for him to name his favorite jazz icons of all time. Of course, he has pushed the limits of the genre for so long that he has become an icon himself. “There’s no such thing as best pianist, best prizefighter,” he says. “But there are revolutionary things. Duke Ellington’s compositions would be one, and the work of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.”

Jamal records much of his work in France, but his It’s Magic followup, A Quiet Time, was put to tape in Brooklyn. The jazz veteran says he is proud of the poetry of the new collection, which he’ll showcase during two concerts at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Nov. 19. Visit manshiptheatre.org for tickets and more information. ahmadjamal.net