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Khan Jamal

Khan Jamal has been playing the vibraphone and marimbas in the Philadelphia and NYC area as well as touring extensively in Europe for going on 4 decades. Having studied at Granoff School of Music and Combs College as well as with Bill Lewis, the Philadelphia vibraphonist, he began an association with the renowned improvisational drummer, Sunny Murray back in the 60's that has lasted to this day. His appetite for all ranges of music and a distaste for marketing himself not uncommon among gifted performers has led to a lack of notoriety, except among fellow artists who acknowledge his skill and musical leadership. Uncomfortable with the label jazz, as are many of his fellow muscians, Khan prefers the term creative improvised music. Some of his explorations with David Murray, Frank Wright and Sunny Murray led him to be tagged as an avant garde musician, playing primarily abstract 'out' music. The label illustrates formal jazz criticism's tendency to use sophisticated analysis as a mask for pigeonholing and consequently rendering an incomplete perspective. And, coincidentally, perpetuating the same old thing. As Sun Ra said, 'they're on the right road all the time, they're going the wrong direction'. In fact, recordings such as 'Thinking of You' reveal more of Khan's sensibility and accessibility even to inexperienced music listeners, playing with a warmth and joy that would surprise his avant garde labelists.

I first heard Khan 20 yrs ago, performing at the Tin Palace in NYC, which then had a format for new music on Sundays. Since then I have heard him perform many times in the Philadelphia area, though not near frequent enough for a player of his stature and gifts. I always look forward to his performances, I call them 'music lessons', his playing always in touch with a pure sense of melody like a guideline thru imagination. There was a time, now years back at a club called the Gaslight in Mt. Holly, N.J., while performing Coltrane's version of 'My Favorite Things', he established a low frequency vibrato thru pedal damping, the vibes literally seeming to 'glow' as he raced over the keys above, much like Coltrane's split register work. The effect was remarkable, enough to merit staying in touch with Khan Jamal, one of many Unsung Heroes (the song Unsung Heroes appears on The Traveller).

Philly Icon Khan Jamal (RIP), William Parker Birthday and other tributes

by David Brown
January 21, 2022

This week, we celebrate Philly icon, vibraphonist Kahn Jamal who we lost this week at age 75. Next, a 70th birthday shout out to bassist/composer William Parker, and other tributes. Then, new music from Philly with Sonic Liberation Front, and South Africa with Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out...wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. Playlist Petter Eldh ...

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Album Review

Khan Jamal: Cool

by Francis Lo Kee
July 10, 2009

Always interesting and quite different from one to the next, vibraphonist Khan Jamal's recordings have charted a unique course through the world of improvisational music, from trio recordings with bass and drums or guitar and drums to sessions with great horn players (eg. Grachan Moncur III, Byard Lancaster, Charles Tyler, et. al.) to the somewhat psychedelic (1972's Drum Dance To The Motherland). Cool, self-released minimally by Jamal in 2002, is no exception. Originally recorded in 1989, the ...

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Album Review

Khan Jamal - Human Arts Ensemble: Drumdance to the Motherland

Read "Drumdance to the Motherland" reviewed by Francis Lo Kee

by Francis Lo Kee
March 28, 2007

This is a re-release of a record that came out on the independent Philadelphia-based record label, Dogtown (slang for the Germantown section of Philadelphia where many of the city's musicians lived). It is a unique a view into an under-recognized musician and an important period in creative music. Besides being a composer and improvising vibraphonist (among other instruments), Khan Jamal is a sincere, exciting player whose music has elements of melody, harmony and rhythm that communicate over ...

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Album Review

Khan Jamal Quintet: Black Awareness

Read "Black Awareness" reviewed by Rex Butters

by Rex Butters
November 16, 2005

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal's fourth session for CIMP finds the veteran in the company of old friends for a relaxed atmosphere in which to blow. Longtime collaborator Byard Lancaster plays a sweetly inflected alto that's also capable of a bite. Trombonist Grachan Moncur III stays low-key, most times preferring understatement. Bassist Dylan Taylor and drummer Dwight James keep the pot stirred, while Jamal remains his own man, dwelling on a repetitive line, toying with an innocent melody, or launching dizzying patterns ...

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Album Review

Khan Jamal: Peace Warrior

Read "Peace Warrior" reviewed by Germein Linares

by Germein Linares
June 28, 2005

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal leads the charge on the eclectic and vibrant Peace Warrior. The album's content, some of which was originally issued in '82 as Don't Take No!, combines recording sessions from '82 and '89. Released on CD by New York-based Random Chance Records, Peace Warrior places a good amount of its emphasis in introducing and integrating the sounds of the synthesizer and the catchy snap of pop beats into its jazz dance.

The resulting music is novel, even twenty ...

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Album Review

Khan Jamal: Percussion & Strings

by Derek Taylor
December 1, 1999

Given the width and breadth of creative improvised music, it's sometimes easy for a musician to get lost in the shuffle, especially if their chosen instrument of expression is one of the more common in the music. Saxophonists in particular are occasional victims of the forced bouts of anonymity that may accompany such periods of congestion. But vibraphonists who move in these circles are few enough in number that they are rarely faced with such problems. This is one of ...

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Recording

Khan Jamal - Gives the Vibes Some (Palm, 1974)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
November 3, 2010

Khan Jamal is one of the unsung heroes of the vibraphone, developing his own unique personality on the instrument apart from the blues drenched soul of Milt Jackson and the hard-bop pyrotechnics of Bubby Hutcherson. This obscure album was released on the French Palm label, and feature Jamal in some really interesting duet and solo settings. Starting off with “Pure Energy" with track lives up to its name as Jamal and drummer Hassan Rashid build a rippling and rolling improvisation ...
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Music Industry

Khan Jamal and Dylan Taylor - Fire and Water

Source: All About Jazz
May 17, 2008

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Music Industry

Philadelphia Concerts - High Zero Prep Festival, Jim Black, Vandermark 5, Fonda/Stevens, Khan Jamal/Matthew Shipp/Odean Pope - from Sweetnighter Productions

Source: All About Jazz

Sweetnighter Productions - Upcoming Concerts Sweetnighter Productions dedicated to bringing cutting edge jazz to Philadelphia High Zero Preparation Festival featuring two unique quartets with some of the country's most exciting improvisers Wednesday, September 20th, 2000 - 9:30 pm - $12 Carol Genetti (vocals/Chicago) Eric Leonardson (tuned percussion/Chicago) Toshi Makihara (percussion/Philadelphia)
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