Donald Lambert
Donald Lambert , called Don Lambert, (born February 12, 1904 in Princeton , New Jersey , † May 8, 1962 in Newark , New Jersey) was an American jazz pianist of the stride piano style.
Lambert was left-handed and learned to play the piano from his mother, but could never play from notes. He was known in the Harlem nightclub scene in the 1920s for the quickness of his left hand grip and was feared at cutting contests - at the piano workshop of the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 he was said to beat Eubie Blake and Willie The Lion Smith and even challenged Art Tatum to have. Lambert was influenced by Paul Seminole (1904-1932), with whom he performed in a duo. He made few recordings, including “Jazzing the Classics” for Bluebird in 1941, where he pursued his inclination to play classical music e.g. B. by Gaetano Donizetti , Richard Wagner , Jules Massenet and Edvard Grieg to play in the Stride style (what he called "Striding the Classics"). Material recorded live in Wallace's Tavern from 1959 to 1962 (including Jazzology, Pumpkin) was also published. He played for many years in the Town House in Montclair (New Jersey) and then in Wallace's Bar in East Orange (New Jersey) .
His nicknames were "Jersey Rocket" (he didn't particularly like New York, avoided the usual rent parties and preferred to play in his native New Jersey), "The Lamb", "Muffin", "The lamb of God".
There are also recordings from 1961 for Solo Art. In 1961 he played at the Newport Jazz Festival .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Entry in Chilton, Who's Who in Jazz, Macmillan 1985, p. 192
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lambert, Donald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lambert, Don |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Princeton , New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 8, 1962 |
| Place of death | Newark , New Jersey |