JamalBass.net

  Jamal is a Solo Intrumentalist, who has developed his own innovative style that allows him to be able to play multiple layers of melody at the same time. What you hear is how he played it. Refusing to do any dubbing, punching in to replace any boffed, misplayed, out of tune, or out of key notes, Jamal insists that the music be human, full of passion and emotion, at times without any regard to meter or tempo. Combining parts that technically wouldnt seem to work together, Jamal makes them work as only he can. At times, the only thing that makes it music is his ability to play it. It is truly a fantastic ride that he takes us on, riding the waves of sound that he produces. There is no denying that Jamal's music comes from another realm, and that not everyone who hears it is prepared for its impact. 

     Compared once by someone to Picasso, Jamal likes to think of himself as an Abstract Expressionist, such as Kadinsky or Pollock.  However, instead of paint, Jamal expresses himself through the fluid music that flows from his Instrument and is drawn from his Soul. His music comes from deep within; a product of the universe, that has realized itself through its music, and offered back to the world in a manner in which we might understand and connect to.   Wassily Kandinsky once said that "Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for colours, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential."  

     Jamal was born hearing impaired, with less than half the hearing ability of the average person, and learned to speak and read lips in school. Growing up in a world where casual speech surrounded him as rythmic tones and cadences, he developed his sense of music in an attempt to find a way to better communicate his thoughts and emotions to others. To this day, he says that words don't mean sh*t.

     In his search for this better way to communicate, he began with the Violin in grade school, moved through various band instruments, even including the Trombone, before finding his musical home...the Bass.  This traditional musical background, combined with his earliest memory being that of a car crash, has allowed Jamal to be meditative, melodious, and serene in one moment, to suddenly spin a full 180 into a sound that kicks you in the gut and leave you scrambling to find your jaw somewhere in the rubble that was once your mind.

     Jamal, at 41, is now emerging from his self-induced sabbatical from the public. Jamal is now leaving his "cave" with his totally unique and innovative style that evokes strong emotions in many a listener, often creating the desire to get in touch with their own inner muse. Jamal has a 'no rules...just express yourself!' attitude when it comes to just about everything in life.  It is this love of life, his passion, and his own artistic expression that comes through his music.  Jamal has taken the Bass out of the Musical Box it has been kept in, and turned that role on its head.

     To quote Ignacy Jan Paderewski, one of the most influentual and innovative composers/pianists/conductors in modern music history, "Rhythm is the pulse in music. Rhythm marks the beating of its heart, proves its vitality, attests its very existence. Rhythm is order. But this order in music cannot progress with the cosmic regularity of a planet, nor with the automatic uniformity of a clock. It reflects life, organic human life, with all its attributes, therefore it is subject to moods and emotions, to rapture and depression. "

NOW AVAILABLE @ CD BABY!!

JAMAL: Follow Your Bliss The impressive Debut CD of a truly innovative electric Bassist. A fearless mix of Classical/Free Jazz/Rock, combined with free-form artistic creativity equals a weaving of passionate pieces that you've never heard pulled from a Fretless 4-string before.