One of the methods I started to use, when I began exploring jazz music in more depth a few years ago was to check the list of Jazz Musicians birthdays at All About Jazz, on a daily basis.
I would look for both older and younger artists whose music I was not familiar. I would also check out artists with foreign names or foreign instruments. Finally, I would look for musicians, who played my favorite instruments, particularly, vibraphone, Hammond B-3 and guitar.
Khan Jamal – Vibraphone – July 23, 1946
One of the musicians I discovered using this method was Jazz vibraphonist Khan Jamal. Jamal was born in Jacksonville, Florida in July 23, 1946
From Wikipedia….
….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.
…..Ron Wynn describes Jamal as “a proficient soloist when playing free material, jazz-rock and fusion, hard bop, or bluesy fare.”
When I first listened to Jamal a few years ago, I listened to the album Cool. Here’s “Six Plus Seven from that album.
Tonight, I think I’ll explore his 1984 release Dark Warrior. According to the review at AllMusic, Dark Warrior is one of Jamal’s best releases on the Steeplechase label.
So until then, let’s wish Khan Jamal a Happy Birthday, while we enjoy the title track from Dark Warrior.
You can check out the full list of July 23rd birthday here at All About Jazz
You can explore more about Khan Jamal and his music here at;
