The famous American jazz pianist, composer and conductor Ahmad Jamal died at the age of 92, French and American media reported on Sunday.

The artist’s widow, Laura Hess-Hay, confirmed his death, according to The Washington Post.

His daughter Sumaya Jamal told The New York Times that the artist is suffering from prostate cancer.

Ahmad Jamal has influenced many musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist McCoy Tyner.

Born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh, who converted to Islam in 1950, Ahmad Jamal has won numerous awards over a seven-decade career.

In 2007, he received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and in 2017 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

An African-American, he made his debut in the 1940s during the bebop revolution and went on to attract a wide audience to jazz.

His style has been described as based on surprise, breaks, use of pauses, romantic accents, with phrasing that is both dynamic and light.

The New Yorker, in an article published on the occasion of the release of several new recordings, stated that in the 1950s “his musical conception was one of the great innovations of the era, even if its bold originality did not reach many listeners.”

Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me, released in 1958, marked the beginning of his success.

It spent more than 100 weeks on the Billboard chart, America’s chart of the most popular songs.

According to The New York Times, it became one of the best-selling instrumental records of the era. Dozens of others followed, which the Times described as “a catalog full of jewels.”

In an interview with the Times in late 2022, Ahmad Jamal stated, “I’m still evolving every time I sit down at the piano. I always have new ideas.”

Listen to the late jazzman’s piece here