In short order, though, he formed another backing band, this one called simply Hammer. Following 1978's Melodies, Hammer disbanded the group and recorded a true solo album, Black Sheep, playing all the instruments himself. The Jan Hammer Group recorded prolifically over the next two years, including collaborations with guitarist Jeff Beck, and their brand of fusion shifted towards R&B-styled grooves. Hammer released The First Seven Days himself in 1975, and he assembled a backing unit called the Jan Hammer Group for the supporting tour. The following year, he joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra, appearing on landmark fusion albums like The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire.Īfter the group broke up at the end of 1973, Hammer reunited with Mahavishnu violinist Jerry Goodman for the album Like Children (1974). In 1970, Hammer settled in Manhattan and recorded as a sideman with Elvin Jones and Jeremy Steig. After attending the Berklee School of Music, he landed a year-long touring engagement with Sarah Vaughan as both keyboardist and conductor. Hammer studied theory and composition at the Prague Academy of Muse Arts, but when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, he emigrated to the U.S. By age 14, he was working with a touring and recording jazz ensemble that also included future Weather Report member Miroslav Vitous. 1.Ī native of Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia, Hammer was born into a musical family on Apand began studying piano at age four. Though primarily focused on studio work for others, he occasionally returns to his own studio projects and in 2018 issued the atmospheric Seasons, Pt. Following his break-out success with the sleek Miami Vice soundtrack, for which he earned two Grammy Awards, he moved further into varied soundtrack work, including issuing 1992's computer-generated video project Beyond the Mind's Eye. He has also collaborated with a bevy of name performers including Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Neal Schon, and many more. A classically trained performer, Hammer first emerged in the 1970s appearing with Mahavishnu before issuing his own synth-based albums like 1975's The First Seven Days and 1979's rock-oriented Black Sheep.

A keyboard titan, Jan Hammer is best known for his work scoring the stylish '80s cop series Miami Vice, as well as for being a charter member of John McLaughlin's legendary fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Jan hammer complete discography torrent