'Jan Hammer' () (born
17 April 1948, in
Prague,
Czechoslovakia) is a composer and
keyboardist.
Hammer is a virtuoso pianist and synthesizer player. His compositions have won him several
Grammy awards. He is probably best known for playing keyboards with the
Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 70s, as well as the "
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, 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 (which spun-off over four soundtrack albums and its worldwide #1 hit theme song) and 20 episodes of the popular British television series ''
Chancer''.
History
Childhood
Hammer was born Jan Hamr 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 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, and formed a jazz trio in high school, performing and recording throughout Eastern Europe at the age of fourteen. Upon entrance to the highly prestigious Prague Academy of Musical Arts, he immersed himself in classes of harmony, counterpoint, music history, and classical composition.
Moving to the United States
When the
Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, his 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.
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Upon completion of his studies, Hammer moved to the artistic haven of
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 highly successful
jazz fusion band, they performed some 530 shows before their farewell concert of
December 30,
1973.
Red Gate Studio
After recording an album with Goodman, and also
John Abercrombie's 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
The Jan Hammer Group was formed and supported ''The First Seven Days'' on tour, receiving ecstatic reviews from both
jazz and
rock critics. The group was prolific beyond all expectations, turning out no less than three LPs the following year: their own ''Oh, Yeah?'' and, with master guitarist
Jeff Beck, the
RIAA platinum ''Wired'' (with Jan's classic "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''.
Career work through the Late 70s and Early 80s
Hammer returned solo work with the release of ''Black Sheep'' in 1978, on which he played every instrument. He then formed a new band, known as "Hammer." Also in 1978, he wrote and performed on three songs for Jeff Beck's next album, ''
There and Back'' which was released in 1980. One of the album tracks, "Star Cycle," went on to become the theme for the popular British television series ''
The Tube''.
The '80s arrived with concurrent (though highly contrasting) projects with two of today's most respected guitarists. In 1977 with
Al Di Meola, Hammer recorded
Elegant Gypsy. ''Casino'', ''Splendido Hotel'' and
Electric Rendezvous followed. He then joined Di Meola for a tour chronicled the same year on ''
Tour De Force - Live''; and finally appeared throughout ''
Scenario'', utilizing his then new
Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer and contributing to more than half of the album's compositions.
At the same time, the duo known as Schon & Hammer, with the mega-platinum band
Journey's guitarist
Neal Schon, recorded ''
Untold Passion'' in 1981 and ''
Here to Stay'' in 1982.
Despite his active schedule, Hammer took the stage with Jeff Beck in December 1983 for the nine U.S. benefit concerts that raised money for
Ronnie Lane's A.R.M.S. (Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis), featuring
Jimmy Page,
Eric Clapton,
Joe Cocker and a host of others. Into 1984, his various talents were employed on recordings as diverse as
James Young's (
Styx) first solo album, ''City Slicker'' for which he co-wrote and produced;
John Abercrombie's ''Night'';
Mick Jagger's first solo album, ''
She's the Boss''; and Jeff Beck's ''
Flash'' which included Hammer's song "Escape", winner of the
1985 Grammy award for "
Best Rock Instrumental Performance".
Miami Vice
Hammer's original scores for three major motion pictures complement a long list of credits for documentaries, "made-for-TV" movies in the U.S., commercials, and station identifications. But his greatest challenge came in the fall of 1984, when the producers of ''
Miami Vice'' enlisted him to commence the rigorous weekly schedule of scoring the series.
The popular success of his music on the series was evident after just one season when, on
November 2,
1985, the ''Miami Vice Soundtrack'' hit number one on the
Billboard Top Pop album charts. The album achieved quadruple-platinum status with U.S. sales of more than four million copies.
At the Grammy awards in February 1986, "Miami Vice Theme" earned Hammer two awards; one for "
Best Pop Instrumental Performance" and one for "
Best Instrumental Composition." He also earned
Emmy award nominations in 1985 and 1986, for "Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition". At the end of 1986, Hammer won Keyboard Magazine's poll as "Best Studio Synthesist" for a second consecutive year. He had previously won the "Best Lead Synthesist" honor for seven years, at which time he was inducted into the Keyboard Hall of Fame.
In 1988, Hammer bowed out of full-time musical chores for ''Miami Vice''.
Life after Miami Vice
The first project to spring from the new Red Gate was Hammer's original soundtrack for ''Clinton and Nadine'' for
HBO Films.
Hammer's next two assignments contributed greatly to his next album. First, at the end of the summer, he was commissioned to compose and perform a theme entitled "The Runner" for a major series of television advertisements in
England that starred
Bob Geldof. Second, Hammer composed and performed the theme music for the top-rated new bi-weekly pan-European television series, ''Eurocops'', which premiered in seven countries that November.
''Snapshots'' was the first full album from the new Red Gate studio in 1989, with Hammer composing, performing and producing every track. The promo video for "Too Much to Lose," the album's first European single, featured
Jeff Beck,
David Gilmour of
Pink Floyd, and
Ringo Starr.
The 90s
The '90s brought a renewed focus on scoring for film and television, starting with ''I Come In Peace'', ''Curiosity Kills'' and all twenty episodes of the British television series, ''
Chancer'', several episodes of
HBO's ''
Tales from the Crypt''; a television spot for
Amnesty International, featuring Czech president
Vaclav Havel, two pilots for
NBC, ''
Knight Rider 2000'' and ''News at 12'', ''
The Taking of Beverly Hills'' (
Columbia Pictures) and
New Line Cinema's ''Sunset Heat''.
Hammer's next project was a giant step forward into the world of computer animation as the composer and performer of the original score for the Miramar Productions video album, ''
Beyond the Mind's Eye''.
1994 was dominated by Hammer's recording of ''Drive'', his first full-fledged album of original new non-soundtrack material under his name in several years. He was reunited with longtime partner Jeff Beck on "Underground", reminiscent of their collaborations of the past.
In 1995, Hammer returned to his scoring and soundtrack work with renewed passion and creativity. He began with the one hour Universal drama ''
Vanishing Son'', then went on to compose the theme and score for 13 episodes of the series. He composed and performed the original music for two feature films, both released in 1996: ''A Modern Affair'' and ''In the Kingdom of the Blind the Man with One Eye Is King''. Hammer wrapped up the year scoring ''Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus''.
In 1996, Hammer's output continued to thrive. His scoring assignments included the NBC Movie of the Week, ''The Babysitter’s Seduction'', ''The Secret Agent Club'', and ''The Corporate Ladder''.
Also in 1996 (and through 2000) Hammer was commissioned to compose all the original music for
TV Nova, the first commercial television network in Eastern Europe, based in the
Czech Republic. He composed everything -- including themes for 23 original shows produced by the network, 50 separate station ID’s, the music for all of the network’s special broadcasts, plus the music for all the news, sports and weather programs.
In 1997, Hammer also composed the hard-driving rock soundtrack for the new CD-ROM game, Outlaw Racers (MegaMedia). His next project was the theme and original music score for the pilot and the series of ''Prince Street''. On another interesting note, 1997 saw six separate compilation CDs released in the U.S.
Hammer started off 1999 by writing, performing and producing a tune, "Even Odds" for Jeff Beck’s latest album ''Who Else!'' (Epic). Also, 1999 saw the release of ''
The Lost Trident Sessions'', the third (and last) studio album from his former group, the
Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album was recorded in 1973 just prior to the band's breakup.
2000 to Present
TV Nova and the Miami Vice Revival
In the fall Hammer released ''Snapshots 1.2'' on One Way Records.
In the fall of 2002, and through the end of the year, Jan commenced work on ''
Red Cap'', a six-hour mini series produced and broadcast by the
BBC.
In 2003, interest in Hammer's earlier body of work allowed Sony Records to release a remastered version of his 1975 debut American solo album ''The First Seven Days''. Hammer, with producer Bob Belden, went into Sony’s New York Studios and digitally remastered the entire album.
Cocaine Cowboys
In the fall of 2004 Jan composed the original score for ''
Cocaine Cowboys''.
Recent Projects
Also in the fall of 2004 Hammer released the album ''The Best of Miami Vice'' on the Reality label in the U.S. ''The Best of Miami Vice'' contains newly recorded versions of "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett’s Theme", as well as one bonus track never before released on CD.
In February 2005, after years of anticipation,
Universal Studios Home Entertainment finally released the first season of ''
Miami Vice'' on three double-sided DVDs. One of the package’s discs contained bonus material, including an extensive interview and archival footage of Hammer creating music for the show back in 1985.
To coincide with the release of the DVD, Reality Records released a newly recorded version of "Crockett’s Theme" to AC (
Adult Contemporary) radio in America.
In 2006, Hammer was asked to collaborate with the singer/rapper TQ for a brand new version of his world hit song "Crockett's Theme". The result of their work was ''The Jan Hammer Project Featuring TQ (
Terrance Quaites): Crockett's Theme''. A CD single, this fresh new version of the song climbed up the charts all over Europe, hitting #1 on the
iTunes Europe download list.
Complete Discography and Recording Credits
'Solo (as Jan Hammer, the Jan Hammer Group, Hammer):'
| Album |
|---|
| The Jan Hammer Trio''Maliny Maliny'' (aka ''Make Love'')(1968)MPS |
| Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer''Like Children''(1974)Nemperor / Sony |
| Jan Hammer''The First Seven Days ''(1975) Nemperor / Sony |
| Jan Hammer Group''Oh Yeah?''(1976) Nemperor / Sony |
| Jan Hammer Group''Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live''(1977) Epic |
| Jan Hammer Group''Melodies'' (1977) Nemperor / Sony |
| Hammer''Black Sheep'' (1978) Elektra / Asylum |
| Hammer''Hammer'' (1979) Elektra / Asylum |
| Neal Schon & Jan Hammer''Untold Passion''(1981) Columbia |
| Neal Schon & Jan Hammer''Here to Stay''(1983) Columbia |
| Jan Hammer''Miami Vice''(1985) MCA |
| Jan Hammer''The Early Years''(1986) Nemperor / Sony |
| Jan Hammer''Escape from Television''(1987) MCA |
| Jan Hammer''Snapshots''(1989) MCA |
| Jan Hammer''BEYOND The Mind's Eye''(1992) Miramar / MCA |
| Jan Hammer''Drive''(1994) Miramar |
| Jan Hammer''Snaphots 1.2''(2000) One Way |
| Jan Hammer''Miami Vice: The Complete Collection''(2002) One Way |
| Jan Hammer''The First Seven Days''(Remastered) (2003) Columbia/Legacy |
| Jan Hammer''The Best of Miami Vice''(2004) Reality Records |
| Jan Hammer''Black Sheep/Hammer'' (2 CD Set)(2005) Wounded Bird Records |
| Jan Hammer Project (Featuring TQ)"Crockett's Theme" (2006) LuckySong/Sony/BMG |
'With the
Mahavishnu Orchestra (Columbia):'
'With
Jeff Beck (Epic):'
'With
Al Di Meola (Columbia):'
'With
Carlos Santana (Columbia):'
★
Love Devotion Surrender (1973) - JAN PLAYED: Drums
'With
Stanley Clarke (Nemperor):'
★ Stanley Clarke (1973) - Keyboards
'With
Billy Cobham (Atlantic):'
★ Spectrum (1973) - Keyboards
'With
John Abercrombie (ECM):'
★
Timeless - Keyboards
★ Night (1984) - Keyboards
'With
The Freelance Hellraiser (Sony/BMG):'
★ Waiting For Clearance (2006) - Keyboards
'With
Tommy Bolin (Atlantic):'
★ Teaser (1975) - Keyboards, Drums
★ From The Archives Vol. 1 (1996) - Keyboards
'With
Elvin Jones (Blue Note):'
★ Merry-Go-Round (session December 16, 1971) - Piano
★ Mr. Jones (sessions July 12 & 13, 1972) - Piano
★ The Prime Element (sessions July 24-26, 1973) - Keyboards
'With
Elvin Jones (P.M.):'
★ On the Mountain (1975) - Keyboards
'With
Glen Moore (Elektra):'
★ Introducing Glen Moore (1978) - Drums
'With
Tony Williams (Columbia):'
★ The Joy of Flying (1979) - Keyboards
'With
Mick Jagger (Columbia):'
★ She's the Boss (1985) - Keyboards
'With
James Young (Passport):'
★ City Slicker (1985) - Keyboards, Drums
'With
Clarence Clemons (Columbia):'
★ An Evening With Mr. C (1989) - Keyboards, Drums
External links
★
Official Jan Hammer website
★
Jan Hammer Interview - Mahavishnu, Miami Vice and More
★
Unofficial Jan Hammer website
★ New
★
★
Unofficial Jan Hammer website (est. 1995)
★
Diggin' Deeper - The Jan Hammer Compendium
★
Interview Jan Hammer, 07.08.2006
★
Jan's son, Paul Hammer
★
Interview - Discusses his guitar sound experimentations
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