Donald "The Lamb" Lambert ( Donald "The Lamb" Lambert ; February 12, 1904 , Princeton , USA - May 8, 1962 , New Jersey ) is an outstanding American jazz pianist playing in the style of stride . He was practically not known to the general public, as he was not distinguished by wide ambitions and spent most of his life playing in obscure bars in New Jersey. Despite this, he was revered by such famous musicians as County Basie and Art Tatum .
| Donald Lambert Donald lambert | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | February 12, 1904 |
| Place of Birth | Princeton |
| Date of death | May 8, 1962 (58 years old) |
| Place of death | New Jersey |
| A country | USA |
| Professions | pianist |
| Years of activity | 1940 - 1962 |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Genres | Jazz Stride |
| Aliases | The Lamb, Muffin, Jersey Rocket, The Lamb Of God |
Biography
The first piano lessons were given to Donald by his mother Alma, a professional pianist and teacher. However, he refused to learn musical notation, and mainly, as a self-taught man, concentratedly listened to the piano videos of James Johnson .
Pianist Don Coates recalled the incident in the late 50s. Then Lambert entered the club, where young musicians rehearsed new works. After listening to several refrains, he sat down at an electric organ and definitely played the piece. These were John Coltrane's Giant Steps .
His career began at age 10 in New Jersey, where he constantly worked in a duet with multi-instrumentalist Paul Seminole. A strong influence on Lambert was exerted by Seminol's skill in syncopying classical works, as well as in playing two works at once simultaneously.
In the early 30s, Lambert settled in New York and worked in Harlem clubs, but after the death of his wife, he suddenly returned to New Jersey and remained working in small clubs until the end of his life.
From time to time, he unexpectedly showed up in New York and challenged other stride masters to piano competitions. So, he tested his skills in a contest with Art Tatum , who, according to pianist Billy Taylor , “could compete with Lambert but could not beat him.” Lambert's technique, his drive and ingenuity are captured on the records of 1940-1941.
Pianist Style
When Lambert played fast stride numbers, his style was characterized by an extremely fast left hand, performing the characteristic “bass chord” patterns. The right hand performed exciting melodic figures, passages with various rhythmic displacements.
The other side of Lambert as a pianist opened up when he played the pieces at an average pace. Then he developed interesting musical solutions, sometimes playing two tunes at once. This created the illusion of a “three hands”.