One of the more inventive keyboardists of the early Jazz-fusion days
He hasn't played much jazz since the late '70s. He studied at Prague Conservatory and in 1967 played at the Warsaw Jazz Jamboree with Stuff Smith. In 1968 after the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, Hammer left for America. He attended Berklee College of Music, worked with Sarah Vaughan (1970-71) and moved to New York where he played with Jeremy Steig and Elvin Jones. Hammer gained fame playing with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during its prime period '73. He has also composed film music for a number of films.
His own albums:
- Maliny Maliny 1968
- Like Children 1974
- The First Seven Days 1975
- Oh Yeah 1976
- Jeff Beck w/ Jan Hammer Group Live 1977
- Melodies 1977
- Black Sheep 1978
- Hammer 1979
- Untold Passion 1981
- Here To Stay 1983
- Music for the TV show Miami Vice 1985
- The Early Years 1986
- Escape From Television 1987
- Snapshots 1989
- Beyond The Mind's Eye 1992
- Drive 1994
- Snaphots 1.2 2000
See: John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Sarah Vaughan
Other Jazz-Fusion artists:
Source:
http://www.janhammer.com/
>Last Updated 06.22.02 | 
