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Frederick Russell Jones was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1930. When he was four years old his uncle challenged him to repeat what he, the uncle, was playing on the family’s piano. Young Fritz was able to reproduce by ear everything his uncle played. Fritz studied piano from that moment on. At the age if 17, after graduating high school Fritz Jones joined the band of fellow Pittsburgher, George Hudson, calling himself Freddie, because of the the unpopularity of the German sounding name “Fritz’ during and right after WWII.

Sometime in 1952 Jones converted to Islam at the oldest mosque in America, located in Chicago, and founded by Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, an Indian born missionary. At the time of is conversion Jones changed his name to Ahmad Jamal.

Ahmad Jamal’s piano style was very spare, depending on unusual chord voicings with his left hand and simple, single line improvisations with his right, emphasized by flights of virtuosity. He influenced trumpeter Miles Davis’ melodic style on the trumpet. Saxophonist John Coltrane was also an Ahmad Jamal fan.

Here is a 1959 performance of Ahmad Jamal with his trio, entitled Darn That Dream.”

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