Jan Hammer

Birth Date: April 17, 1948
Birth Place: Prague, Czechoslovakia

Jan Hammer (born 17 April 1948, in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, today the Czech Republic) is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He is probably best known for playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 70s, as well as his "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s US television program, Miami Vice.

Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential musicians such as Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Neal Schon, Steve Lukather, and Elvin Jones among many others. He has composed and produced at least 14 original motion picture soundtracks, the music for 90 episodes of Miami Vice and 20 episodes of the popular British television series Chancer.His compositions have won him several Grammy awards. Jan Hammer was born in Prague, the capital of then Czechoslovakia (today the capital of the Czech Republic). His mother was a well-known Czech singer named Vlasta Průchová, and his father was a doctor who worked his way through school playing vibes and bass. Hammer began playing the piano at the age of four and his formal instruction started two years later. He aspired to follow his father into medicine until a family friend convinced him to develop his musical talents instead. Hammer formed a jazz trio in high school, performing and recording throughout Eastern Europe at the age of fourteen. Upon entrance to the Prague Academy of Musical Arts, he completed many compulsory classes including harmony, counterpoint, music history, and classical composition. When the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, Hammer's studies at the Academy were cut short, and he moved to the United States and resolved to become a citizen after receiving a scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Upon completion of his studies, Hammer moved to Lower Manhattan and joined the original lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist Jerry Goodman, bassist Rick Laird, and drummer Billy Cobham in 1971. A successful jazz fusion band, they performed some 530 shows before their farewell concert on December 30, 1973. Hammer was one of the early pioneers who played the Mini Moog synthesizer in a touring group. After recording albums with Goodman and John Abercrombie (ECM session Timeless with Jack DeJohnette) in 1974, Hammer's solo career began with the release of The First Seven Days (1975). He produced and recorded the album at Red Gate Studio, which he'd built in his upstate New York farmhouse and which has been the location of his recordings ever since. The Jan Hammer Group was formed and supported The First Seven Days on tour, receiving good reviews from both jazz and rock critics. The group turned out three LPs the following year: their own Oh, Yeah? and, with Jeff Beck, the RIAA platinum Wired (with Jan's "Blue Wind"), and Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live, a chronicle of their 100-show tour together, certified gold. One final album by the group followed in 1977, Melodies.

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