Ahmad Jamal parents: Who are his father and mother?

July 2024 · 2 minute read

Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was a jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator from the United States. He was one of the most effective small-group leaders in jazz for six decades. He was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his contributions to music history.

Ahmad Jamal parents: Who are his father and mother?

The renowned American pianist, Ahmad Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States to Robert Smith Jones (father) and Lottie Jones (mother). However, there is not much information available regarding their personal details.

Meanwhile, Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones on July 2, 1930, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began playing the piano when he was three years old when his uncle Lawrence challenged him to mimic what he was performing on the piano. Jamal began professional piano lessons at the age of seven with Mary Cardwell Dawson, whom he credits with influencing him significantly.

His Pittsburgh roots remained an essential part of his identity (“Pittsburgh meant everything to me and it still does,” he said in 2001), and it was there that he was exposed to jazz performers such as Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner.

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