美国国家公共电台 NPR--Measured maestro of the jazz piano, Ahmad Jamal, dies at 92

Measured maestro of the jazz piano, Ahmad Jamal, dies at 92

Transcript¹

Ahmad Jamal was a pianist, composer and bandleader. His influence and admirers spread far and wide in jazz. In 1994, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Ahmad Jamal, storied jazz pianist and bandleader, has died at 92. His career spanned over seven decades.

(SOUNDBITE OF AHMAD JAMAL'S "POINCIANA")

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Jamal's 1958 album "At The Pershing: But Not For Me" stayed on the charts for 108 weeks. In 2014, he told NPR he kind of saw it coming.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

AHMAD JAMAL: I just knew that we had something of value. I had the feeling that it was going to be a success - not to the extent that - of course, you can't be that clairvoyant².

MART?NEZ: Jamal inspired countless³ jazz musicians.

FADEL: Including Miles Davis, who once said, all my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.

(SOUNDBITE OF AHMAD JAMAL TRIO'S "I LOVE MUSIC")

FADEL: His lush playing has also been widely sampled by hip-hop artists. Pianist Jason Moran isn't at all surprised by Jamal's enduring appeal.

JASON MORAN: Ahmad is timeless in a way that almost doesn't age. So there's something about what he - how he perforated the music, the air that he kind of infuses into it that always allows for the contemporary listener, no matter what decade they are in, to kind of fit themselves inside or have a moment to digest a crazy phrase he just played, you know?

(SOUNDBITE OF AHMAD JAMAL TRIO'S "I LOVE MUSIC")

MART?NEZ: Jamal played shows and released new recordings⁴ well into his 80s. He reflected on the inevitability⁵ of death.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JAMAL: You can't take anything with you. Only thing that's going in there is, what did you do? What did you do? That's all that's going in there because paradise and hell begin right here, in my opinion. I've experienced both a little bit - just a little bit. I hope I can experience a whole lot of paradise in this world and in the hereafter. Believe me.

FADEL: Ahmad Jamal leaves a little bit of paradise for the rest of us to enjoy.

(SOUNDBITE OF AHMAD JAMAL'S "AUTUMN RAIN")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 clairvoyant   

adj.有预见的；n.有预见的人

参考例句：

• Love is blind,but friendship is clairvoyant.爱是盲目的，友谊则能洞察一切。
• Those whom are clairvoyant have often come to understand past lives.那些能透视的人们已能经常理解死去的生命。

3 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。