Keyboard HOW-TO MAGAZINE
This month we explore the player who defined how the synthesizer became a lead instrument in jazz-rock, rock, funk and other styles of music:_Jan Hammer. He single-handedly defined the technique and vocabulary of pitch-bending, and stood toe-to-toe with many of the greatest guitar players of our age.
Eastern European Roots
Jan is a native of Czechoslovakia, now known as the Czech Republic. Coming from a musical family, he studied classical piano as a youth, until the jazz bug bit him in his teens. He immersed himself in that music, both on piano, organ and drums. An early recording called iMaliny Maliny finds him playing very progressive jazz on]. He speaks of hearing the Tony Williams Lifetime band while in Boston as a huge influence, one that introduced him to the playing of John McLaughlin on guitar. The explorations of Miles Davis (who he jammed with), and then Jimi Hendrix became further catalysts for his progressive development.
