Remembering Ahmad Jamal (1930-2023)

As soon as I heard the news of the passing of Ahmad Jamal, the first thing that came to mind was the African proverb, “When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.” And then the image of Ahmad’s noble, large hands and his long, slender fingers appeared in my mind’s eye. I used to stare at those hands in awe of how much knowledge and wisdom they held. Indeed, one of the greatest libraries has burned to the ground. Our brightest light is gone, but his music, influence and legacy will forever live on.

Dr. Jamal’s music is my favorite of all, and I often wonder where I’d be without it and the wisdom he generously shared with me. His music is my desert-island music and has brought me hundreds if not thousands of hours of joy, awe, company, relief, excitement and inspiration. In fact, it set me on my life’s path, and all it took was one-second to do so! More specifically: 1:26-1:27 on “Like Someone In Love” from Live at the Blackhawk. It only took hearing that quick, super cool melodic twinkle for me to know exactly what I wanted to do with my life (but that didn’t stop me from playing it over and over and over and over again).

Our first real “meeting” was on May 10, 2011, when Dr. Jamal graciously allowed me to interview him over the phone for a project I was working on about him while I was an undergraduate at NYU. A really beautiful and impactful conversation, his advice about learning the lyrics made a lasting impact: “Well,” he said. “You don’t have to, but in order to re-interpret these things in a more informed-of manner, you should.”

As did this: “I was reading about the focus on the new approach to music videos. It was very interesting. A lot of it has stuff to do with things that are not musical, as far as I’m concerned. A lot of stuff on MTV has nothing to do with music, but that’s what we’ve created here. We have a focus on non-musical things and a lack of focus on musical things. Music is supposed to sooth the savaged beast and in many instances we’re raising the savaged beast.”

And this: “That’s the interesting thing about Horowitz: he’s playing the same repertoire, but it’s his touch that makes the difference…Everything lies in the touch.”

During this period, I was also an intern at the Blue Note and one afternoon, a month or so after our conversation, I was working upstairs in the Blue Note’s office when I got news that he was downstairs at the club for that evening’s Hiromi performance. I went downstairs to introduce myself as the student who interviewed him a few weeks back and to thank him for that conversation but as I approached him I was shocked when he actually greeted me first - and with, “Joe Alterman! How’d we do on that paper?”

The next time I saw him was when I was a student volunteer at the 2012 National Endowment For The Arts Jazz Masters Awards. I was actually assigned to Dr. Jamal that day - making sure he was comfortable, showing him around, etc., and we spent quite a bit of time together. It was a very special experience, and at the end of the night he gave me a big hug. Afterward, I turned around to leave and walked away for just a few seconds before I felt a tap on my back. It was him. He had one last message for me: “Keep your enthusiasm. It’s necessary,” and then he was gone…until a few weeks later when I was shocked to receive an email from him, subject line: “Enthusiasm”. 

I didn’t quite understand what he meant about keeping my enthusiasm until one night a few weeks later when I was on a restaurant gig and didn’t feel like engaging with someone in the audience who was being a bit obnoxious. But I thought back to Dr. Jamal’s comment about keeping my enthusiasm and decided to engage with that person, which led to a plethora of gigs - and the first time that I could feel the magic of Dr. Jamal’s wisdom. 

Once, when I was going through a hard time in a relationship, I reached out to Dr. Jamal for advice. He told me to spend time being quiet and to figure out if that person was a muse or a distraction. Not only did his advice lead to a break-up the following day, but it led me to my treasured meditation practice and the quest to seek out and rid other distractions from my life. 

At one point, I felt that my growing technique at the piano was often getting in the way of making good music. Curious how he balanced his great technique with making good music, I sent a note. His powerful response was life-changing. Here’s part of it: 

This is the day and age of concentration on developing technology only, at the expense of the loss of culture, discipline, development of the soul!!! People are not machines!!! Horowitz, Tatum, all were technical wonders but they had wonderful, soulful concepts, no matter how many thousands of notes they played!!! You can only play what you hear, discover, and hopefully be able to execute. Technique without soul is meaningless. We are not machines, we are distinct souls, everyone with their own fingerprint!! You will never find 2 fingerprints the same!! Everyone has something special and if we are Blessed we will discover it!!! Be yourself, immerse your self in discovery by being in tune with the soul!!! Everything else will come: necessary technique, feeling, passion, depth, discipline, etc.

One time, he called me just as a pizza delivery began ringing my doorbell and told me to pay for the pizza and call back, which I did as quickly as I possibly could but, upon discovering that I hadn’t taken the opportunity to eat that warm pizza meal when so many people around the world don’t have the same opportunity, he made sure that I did. “Here’s the deal,” he told me. “It’s 9:15 now. Treat your food with respect, and call me back at 10:15.”

In 2013, Dr. Jamal introduced me to his godson, a true gem of a person and fantastic musician Zayn Mohammed, who is a kindred spirit and has since become a great friend. One night I joined Dr. Jamal at the Blue Note to watch Zayn perform and we got such a kick out of how similarly we both reacted to Zayn’s music. We consistently grunted and laughed at the exact same moments!  There was always something about Jamal’s music that resonated deeply and felt very personal to me, and it was such a surreal and beautiful experience to hear how similarly we reacted to hearing music together.

I could go on and on. I was so lucky to have known my hero even a little and I’m forever grateful that he engaged with me and shared much. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I’m so thankful for everything that was Ahmad Jamal and for the example he set. In his 92 years he made a real and truly lasting impact!

And I’m thankful that his music and his words will continue to be there for me for the rest of my life. Forever watching over me at my piano is this powerful, special reminder: “Dear Mr. Joe Alterman, Without enthusiasm, you are among the lost. Avoid distractions. Make all the necessary sacrifices to dispel sadness!!! Your friend, Ahmad Jamal.”