- Jan Hammer
Infobox musical artist
Name = Jan Hammer
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Jan Hammer
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1948|4|17|mf=y
Died =
Instrument = Keyboards
Genre =Jazz fusion , Pop,Pop rock
Occupation =Musician ,Songwriter
Years_active = 1971 - present
Label =
Associated_acts =Mahavishnu Orchestra , Jan Hammer Group
URL = http://www.janhammer.comJan Hammer (IPA2|jan hamɘ) (born
17 April 1948 , inPrague , thenCzechoslovakia , today part of theCzech Republic ) is acomposer ,pianist andkeyboardist . His compositions have won him severalGrammy award s. He is probably best known for playing keyboards with theMahavishnu Orchestra in the early 70s, as well as his "Miami Vice Theme " and "Crockett's Theme ", from the popular 1980s UStelevision program , "Miami Vice ". Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential musicians such asJeff Beck ,Al Di Meola ,Mick Jagger ,Carlos Santana ,Stanley Clarke ,Neal Schon ,Steve Lukather , andElvin Jones among many others. He has composed and produced at least 14 original motion picture soundtracks, the music for 90 episodes of Miami Vice and 20 episodes of the popular British television series "Chancer ".History
Early life
Jan Hammer was born in Prague, the capital of then Czechoslovakia (today the capital of the
Czech Republic ). His mother was a well-known Czech singer named Vlasta Průchová, and his father was a doctor who worked his way through school playing vibes and bass. Hammer began playing the piano at the age of four and his formal instruction started two years later. He aspired to follow his father into medicine until a family friend convinced him to develop his musical talents instead. Hammer formed a jazz trio in high school, performing and recording throughout Eastern Europe at the age of fourteen. Upon entrance to the Prague Academy of Musical Arts, he completed many compulsory classes including harmony, counterpoint, music history, and classical composition.When the
Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, Hammer's studies at the Academy were cut short, and he moved to theUnited States and resolved to become a citizen after receiving a scholarship atBerklee College of Music in Boston.Upon completion of his studies, Hammer moved to
Lower Manhattan and joined the original lineup of theMahavishnu Orchestra with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinistJerry Goodman , bassistRick Laird , and drummerBilly Cobham in 1971. A successfuljazz fusion band, they performed some 530 shows before their farewell concert onDecember 30 ,1973 .After recording albums with Goodman and John Abercrombie (ECM session "Timeless" with
Jack DeJohnette ) in 1974, Hammer's solo career began with the release of "The First Seven Days" (1975). He produced and recorded the album at Red Gate Studio, which he'd built in hisupstate New York farmhouse and which has been the location of his recordings ever since.The Jan Hammer Group was formed and supported "The First Seven Days" on tour, receiving good reviews from both
jazz and rock critics. The group turned out three LPs the following year: their own "Oh, Yeah?" and, withJeff Beck , theRIAA platinum "Wired" (with Jan's "Blue Wind"), and "Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live ", a chronicle of their 100-show tour together, certified gold. One final album by the group followed in 1977, "Melodies".1970s and 80s
Hammer returned to solo work with the release of "Black Sheep" in 1978, on which he played every instrument. He then formed a new band, known as "Hammer." Also in 1978, he wrote and performed on three songs for Jeff Beck's next album, "There and Back" which was released in 1980. One of the album tracks, "Star Cycle," went on to become the theme for the British television series "The Tube".
The '80s arrived with concurrent (though highly contrasting) projects with two of today's most respected guitarists. In 1977 with
Al Di Meola , Hammer recordedElegant Gypsy . "Casino", "Splendido Hotel" andElectric Rendezvous followed. He then joined Di Meola for a tour chronicled the same year on "Tour De Force - Live "; and finally appeared throughout "Scenario", utilizing his then newFairlight CMI digital synthesizer and contributing to more than half of the album's compositions.At the same time, the duo known as Schon & Hammer, with the mega-platinum band Journey's guitarist
Neal Schon , recorded "Untold Passion " in 1981 and "Here to Stay" in 1982.Despite his active schedule, Hammer took the stage with Jeff Beck in December 1983 for the nine U.S. benefit concerts that raised money for
Ronnie Lane 's A.R.M.S. (Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis), featuringJimmy Page ,Eric Clapton ,Joe Cocker and a host of others. Into 1984, his various talents were employed on recordings as diverse as James Young's (Styx) first solo album, "City Slicker" for which he co-wrote and produced; John Abercrombie's "Night";Mick Jagger 's first solo album, "She's the Boss "; and Jeff Beck's "Flash" which included Hammer's song "Escape", winner of the 1985 Grammy award for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance ".Miami Vice and successes
Hammer's original scores for three major motion pictures complement a long list of credits for documentaries, "made-for-TV" movies in the U.S., commercials, and station identifications. But his greatest challenge came in the fall of 1984, when the producers of "
Miami Vice " enlisted him to commence the rigorous weekly schedule of scoring the series.The popular success of his music on the series was evident after just one season when, on
November 2 ,1985 , the "Miami Vice Soundtrack" hit number one on theBillboard Top Pop album charts. The album achieved quadruple-platinum status with U.S. sales of more than four million copies.At the Grammy awards in February 1986, "Miami Vice Theme" earned Hammer two awards; one for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" and one for "Best Instrumental Composition." He also earned Emmy award nominations in 1985 and 1986, for "Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition". At the end of 1986, Hammer won Keyboard Magazine's poll as "Best Studio Synthesist" for a second consecutive year. He had previously won the "Best Lead Synthesist" honor for seven years, at which time he was inducted into the Keyboard Hall of Fame.
In 1988, Hammer bowed out of full-time musical chores for "Miami Vice", and was replaced by Tim Truman for the show's final season.
The first project to spring from the new Red Gate was Hammer's original soundtrack for "Clinton and Nadine" for
HBO Films .Hammer's next two assignments contributed greatly to his next album. First, at the end of the summer, he was commissioned to compose and perform a theme entitled "The Runner" for a major series of television advertisements in
England that starredBob Geldof . Second, Hammer composed and performed the theme music for the top-rated new bi-weekly pan-European television series, "Eurocops", which premiered in seven countries that November."Snapshots" was the first full album from the new Red Gate studio in 1989, with Hammer composing, performing and producing every track. The promo video for "Too Much to Lose," the album's first European single, featured
Jeff Beck ,David Gilmour ofPink Floyd , andRingo Starr .The 90s
The '90s saw a renewed focus on scoring, starting with "I Come In Peace", "Curiosity Kills" and all twenty episodes of the British television series, "
Chancer ", several episodes ofHBO 's "Tales from the Crypt"; a television spot forAmnesty International , featuring Czech presidentVaclav Havel , two pilots forNBC , "Knight Rider 2000 " and "News at 12", "The Taking of Beverly Hills " (Columbia Pictures ) andNew Line Cinema 's "Sunset Heat".Hammer's next project was as composer and performer of the original score for the Miramar Productions video album, "
Beyond the Mind's Eye ".1994 was dominated by Hammer's recording of "Drive", his first full-fledged album of original new non-soundtrack material under his name in several years. He was reunited with longtime partner Jeff Beck on "Underground", reminiscent of their collaborations of the past.
In 1995, Hammer returned to his scoring and soundtrack work. He began with the one hour Universal drama "
Vanishing Son ", then went on to compose the theme and score for 13 episodes of the series. He composed and performed the original music for two feature films, both released in 1996: "A Modern Affair" and "In the Kingdom of the Blind the Man with One Eye Is King". Hammer wrapped up the year scoring "Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus".In 1996, Hammer's scoring assignments included the NBC Movie of the Week, "The Babysitter’s Seduction", "The Secret Agent Club", and "The Corporate Ladder".
Also in 1996 (and through 2000) Hammer was commissioned to compose all the original music for
TV Nova , the first commercial television network in Eastern Europe, based in theCzech Republic . He composed everything -- including themes for 23 original shows produced by the network, 50 separate station ID’s, the music for all of the network’s special broadcasts, plus the music for all the news, sports and weather programs.In 1997, Hammer also composed the hard-driving rock soundtrack for the new CD-ROM game, Outlaw Racers (MegaMedia). His next project was the theme and original music score for the pilot and the series of "Prince Street".
Hammer started off 1999 by writing, performing and producing a tune, "Even Odds" for Jeff Beck’s latest album "Who Else!" (Epic). Also, 1999 saw the release of "
The Lost Trident Sessions ", the third (and last) studio album from his former group, theMahavishnu Orchestra . The album was recorded in 1973 just prior to the band's breakup.2000 to Present
Jan Hammer produced the original score for "
Cocaine Cowboys ", a 2006 documentary depicting the infamousMiami drug trade scene of the 1980's.Also in the fall of 2004 Hammer released the album "The Best of Miami Vice" on the Reality label in the U.S. "The Best of Miami Vice" contains newly recorded versions of "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett’s Theme", as well as one bonus track never before released on CD.
In February 2005, after years of anticipation,
Universal Studios Home Entertainment finally released the first season of "Miami Vice " on three double-sided DVDs. One of the package’s discs contained bonus material, including an extensive interview and archival footage of Hammer creating music for the show back in 1985.To coincide with the release of the DVD, Reality Records released a newly recorded version of "Crockett’s Theme" to AC (
Adult Contemporary ) radio in America.In 2006, Hammer was asked to collaborate with the singer/rapper TQ for a brand new version of his song "Crockett's Theme". The result of their work was "The Jan Hammer Project Featuring TQ (
Terrance Quaites ): Crockett's Theme". A CD single, this new version climbed up the charts in Europe, hitting #1 on theiTunes Europe download list.Discography
Solo (as Jan Hammer, the Jan Hammer Group, Hammer):
With
Al Di Meola (Columbia):With
Carlos Santana (Columbia):
*Love Devotion Surrender (1973) - DrumsWith
Stanley Clarke (Nemperor):
* Stanley Clarke (1973) - KeyboardsWith
Billy Cobham (Atlantic):
* Spectrum (1973) - KeyboardsWith
John Abercrombie (ECM):
* Timeless - Keyboards
* Night (1984) - KeyboardsWith
The Freelance Hellraiser (Sony/BMG):
* Waiting For Clearance (2006) - KeyboardsWith
Tommy Bolin (Atlantic):
* Teaser (1975) - Keyboards, Drums
* From The Archives Vol. 1 (1996) - KeyboardsWith
Elvin Jones (Blue Note):
* Merry-Go-Round (session December 16, 1971) - Piano
* Mr. Jones (sessions July 12 & 13, 1972) - Piano
* The Prime Element (sessions July 24-26, 1973) - KeyboardsWith
Elvin Jones (P.M.):
* On the Mountain (1975) - KeyboardsWith
Glen Moore (Elektra):
* Introducing Glen Moore (1978) - DrumsWith
Tony Williams (Columbia):
* The Joy of Flying (1979) - KeyboardsWith
Mick Jagger (Columbia):
* She's the Boss (1985) - KeyboardsWith James Young (Passport):
* City Slicker (1985) - Keyboards, DrumsWith
Clarence Clemons (Columbia):
* An Evening With Mr. C (1989) - Keyboards, DrumsWith
Steve Lukather (Columbia):
* Lukather (1989) - KeyboardsReferences
External links
* [http://www.janhammer.com/ Official Jan Hammer website]
* [http://www.synthtopia.com/interviews/Jan_Hammer_Interview.html Jan Hammer Interview] - Mahavishnu, Miami Vice and More
* [http://www.jan-hammer.net Unofficial Jan Hammer website *New*]
* [http://www.hut.fi/~tahola/jhammer/ Unofficial Jan Hammer website (est. 1995)]
* [http://www.miamivice.info/ Interview Jan Hammer, 07.08.2006]
* [http://www.paulhammer.com Jan's son, Paul Hammer]
* [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/janhammer.htm Interview - Discusses his guitar sound experimentations]
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