Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jan Hammer |
Born | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 17 April 1948
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1968–present |
Website | janhammer |
Jan Hammer (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈɦamɛr]) (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer.[1] He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the 1980s television program Miami Vice. He has continued to work as both a musical performer and producer.
Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential jazz and rock musicians such as John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck, Billy Cobham, Al Di Meola, Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Tommy Bolin, Neal Schon, Steve Lukather, John Abercrombie and Elvin Jones. 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 television series Chancer.
His compositions have won him several
Biography
Early life
Jan Hammer was born in Prague, then capital of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).[2] His mother was Vlasta Průchová, a well-known Czech singer, and his father was a doctor who worked his way through school playing vibraphone and bass guitar. Hammer began playing the piano at the age of four and his formal instruction started two years later.[2] 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.[2] Upon entrance to the Prague Academy of Musical Arts, he completed many compulsory classes including harmony, counterpoint, music history, and classical composition.
When the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia on 20 August 1968, Hammer's studies at the Academy were cut short. Hammer recorded a jazz trio live album at "The Domicile" in Munich on 30 August 1968. This was released as Malma Maliny by the German label MPS Records. Hammer decided to move to the United States and resolved to become a citizen after receiving a scholarship at Berklee School of Music in Boston.[2]
Upon completion of his studies, Hammer spent a year touring with Sarah Vaughan, recorded with Elvin Jones and Jeremy Steig, then moved to New York City and joined the original lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist Jerry Goodman, bassist Rick Laird, and drummer Billy Cobham in 1971.[2][3] A successful jazz fusion band, they performed some 530 shows before their farewell concert on 30 December 1973. Hammer was an early pioneer of playing the Minimoog Moog synthesizer in a live setting.
Hammer joined
In 1976, he featured with jazz/rock guitarist
The Jan Hammer Group was also formed in 1976 and supported The First Seven Days on tour, receiving good reviews from both jazz and rock critics. The group turned out two LPs Oh, Yeah? and Melodies.
Hammer composed music for the Czech cinematic fairy-tale The Incredibly Sad Princess.
Late 1970s and early 1980s
In 1977, Hammer recorded
During the mid 70s to early 80s he also recorded and played with Joni Mitchell, Billy Cobham, Santana, Tommy Bolin, Harvey Mason and Stanley Clarke.
Hammer also returned to solo work with the release of Black Sheep in 1978..
He formed Schon & Hammer, a duo with ex Santana and Journey guitarist Neal Schon, that recorded Untold Passion in 1981 and Here to Stay in 1982.
Hammer took the stage with Jeff Beck in December 1983 for the nine U.S. benefit concerts that raised money for
Miami Vice and successes
Hammer's original scores for three major motion pictures complement a long list of credits for documentaries,
The popular success of his music on the series was evident after just one season when, on 2 November 1985, the Miami Vice Soundtrack hit number one on the Billboard Top Pop album charts.[2] 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 "
In 1988, Hammer bowed out of full-time musical chores for Miami Vice. The theme song he composed remained in use until the show ended its five-season run in 1989.
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 starred Bob Geldof. Second, Hammer composed and performed the theme music for the top-rated new bi-weekly pan-European television series, Eurocops,[1] 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.[2] The promo video for "Too Much to Lose," the album's first European single, featured Jeff Beck, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, and Ringo Starr.
The 1990s
In the early 1990s, Hammer toured with drummer Tony Williams. Notably, they featured as Jan Hammer / Tony Williams Group on July 4, 1991, at Spectrum de Montréal (Montreal International Jazz Festival). The show was documented on both DVD and audio CD.
The 1990s saw a renewed focus on scoring, starting with I Come in Peace (a.k.a. Dark Angel, composed in 1989 but released in 1990), Curiosity Kills and all twenty episodes of the British television series, Chancer, several episodes of HBO's Tales from the Crypt; a television spot for Amnesty International, featuring Czech president Václav Havel, two pilots for NBC, Knight Rider 2000 and News at 12, The Taking of Beverly Hills (Columbia Pictures) and New Line Cinema's Sunset Heat.
"Crockett's Theme" was re-released with Hammer's theme tune for Chancer in the UK in 1991,[1] after the former featured in a series of commercials for NatWest.
Hammer's next project was as composer and performer of the original score for the Miramar Productions video album,
In late 1993 (and through 2000) Hammer was commissioned to compose all the original music for
1994 saw Hammer recording Drive, his first full-fledged album of original new non-soundtrack material under his name in several years.[2] 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.
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, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was recorded in 1973 just prior to the band's breakup.
2000 to present
Hammer produced the original score for Cocaine Cowboys, a 2006 documentary depicting the infamous Miami drug trade scene of the 1980s. Hammer's soundtrack of the film was released in 2007.
Also in the autumn 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,
To coincide with the release of the DVD, Reality Records released a newly recorded version of "Crockett's Theme" to AC (
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 (
In a 2012 interview, Hammer indicated that he is working on a compilation of unreleased works.[4]
In a 2014 interview with the
He recorded a version of the Squidbillies theme in 2014.[6]
On 20 July 2018 he released his first album of new material in over 10 years: Seasons - Part 1.
Personal life
Hammer became a US citizen in 1978.[7] He has a son, Paul, who fronts the band Savoir Adore.[8]
Discography
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Huey, Steve. "Jan Hammer Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9748208-0-4.
- ^ Tracey, Ed (18 May 2011). "An Interview With GRAMMY Winner Jan Hammer". Miss Music Nerd. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- ^ Serwer, Jesse (8 October 2014). "Jan Hammer Reveals His 'Miami Vice' Scoring Secrets". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ Leight, Elias (14 November 2014). "Jan Hammer of 'Miami Vice' Fame Records the 'Squidbillies' Theme". Billboard.
- ^ "My interview with Grammy winner/DK reader Jan Hammer". Dailykos.com. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ Johnson, Andy (3 June 2013). "Savoir Adore: Our Nature". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 August 2016.