Editing Jan Hammer (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Jan Hammer was born in [[Prague]], then capital of [[Czechoslovakia]] (now the Czech Republic).<ref name="Huey">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jan-hammer-mn0000809357#biography|title=Jan Hammer Biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref> His mother was [[Vlasta Průchová]], a well-known Czech singer, and his father was a doctor who worked his way through school playing [[vibraphone]] and bass guitar. Hammer began playing the piano at the age of four and his formal instruction started two years later.<ref name="Huey" /> 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.<ref name="Huey" /> Upon entrance to the Prague Academy of Musical Arts, he completed many compulsory classes including [[harmony]], [[counterpoint]], [[music history]], and classical [[Musical composition|composition]].

When the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia]] on 20 August 1968, Hammer's studies at the academy were cut short. Under the partronage of [[Friedrich Gulda]], whose viennese annual newcomer-festival he had won a few months earlier, Hammer recorded a jazz trio live album at "The Domicile" in Munich on 30 August 1968.  This was released as ''Malma Maliny'' by the German label MPS Records. Not returning to Prague, he stayed in Munich and worked with actress [[Kai Fischer]] on her debut album "Kai Fidelity". Hammer decided to move to the United States and resolved to become a citizen after receiving a scholarship at [[Berklee College of Music|Berklee School of Music]] in [[Boston]].<ref name="Huey" />

[[File:Between Nothingness and Eternity trade advert 1973.png|thumb|A 1973 advert for [[Between Nothingness and Eternity]], featuring Jan Hammer as the second from the left.]]

Upon completion of his studies, Hammer spent a year touring with [[Sarah Vaughan]], recorded with [[Elvin Jones]] and [[Jeremy Steig]], then moved to [[New York City]] and joined the original lineup of the [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]] with guitarist [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]], violinist [[Jerry Goodman]], bassist [[Rick Laird]], and drummer [[Billy Cobham]] in 1971.<ref name="Huey" /><ref name="Schoenberg" /> A successful [[jazz fusion]] band, they performed some 530 shows before their farewell concert on 30 December 1973. Hammer was an early pioneer of playing the Minimoog [[Moog synthesizer]] in a live setting.

Hammer joined [[Billy Cobham]], [[Leland Sklar]], [[Tommy Bolin]] and additional personnel on Billy Cobham's debut solo album, [[Spectrum (Billy Cobham album)|Spectrum]] released in 1973. After recording albums with Goodman and [[John Abercrombie (guitarist)|John Abercrombie]] (ECM session [[Timeless (1974)|''Timeless'']] with [[Jack DeJohnette]]) in 1974,<ref name="Larkin"/> Hammer's solo career began with the release of ''[[The First Seven Days]]'' (1975).<ref name="Huey" /> 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.

In 1976, he featured with jazz/rock guitarist [[Jeff Beck]] on Beck's [[RIAA]] platinum album ''[[Wired (Jeff Beck album)|Wired]]'', produced by [[George Martin]].<ref name="Larkin"/> A tour featuring songs from ''Wired'' and ''[[Blow By Blow]]'' ensued resulting in the ''[[Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live]]'' album, a chronicle of their 117-show tour which was certified gold.

The Jan Hammer Group was also formed in 1976 and supported ''The First Seven Days'' on tour, receiving good reviews from both [[jazz]] and [[Rock music|rock]] critics. The group turned out two LPs ''Oh, Yeah?'' and ''Melodies''.

Hammer composed music for the Czech cinematic fairy-tale ''[[The Incredibly Sad Princess]]''.

===Late 1970s and early 1980s===
In 1977, Hammer recorded ''[[Elegant Gypsy]]'' with [[Al Di Meola]]. ''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 (album)|Scenario]]'', using a [[Fairlight CMI]] digital synthesizer and contributing to more than half of the album's compositions.

During the mid 70s to early 80s he also recorded and played with [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Billy Cobham]], [[Santana (band)|Santana]], [[Tommy Bolin]], [[Harvey Mason]] and [[Stanley Clarke]].

Hammer also returned to solo work with the release of ''Black Sheep'' in 1978.<ref name="Huey" /> He then formed a new band, known as "Hammer".<ref name="Huey" /> Also in 1978, he wrote and performed on three songs for Jeff Beck's next album, ''[[There and Back (Jeff Beck album)|There and Back]]'', which was released in 1980.<ref name="Larkin"/> One of the album tracks, "Star Cycle," went on to become the theme for the British television series ''[[The Tube (1982 TV series)|The Tube]]''.

He formed Schon & Hammer, a duo with ex [[Santana (band)|Santana]] and [[Journey (band)|Journey]] guitarist [[Neal Schon]], that recorded ''[[Untold Passion]]'' in 1981 and ''[[Here to Stay (Schon & Hammer album)|Here to Stay]]'' in 1982.

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 (American musician)|James Young]]'s ([[Styx (band)|Styx]]) first solo album, ''City Slicker'', for which he co-wrote and produced; [[John Abercrombie (guitarist)|John Abercrombie]]'s ''Night'';<ref name="Larkin"/> [[Mick Jagger]]'s first solo album, ''[[She's the Boss]]''; and Jeff Beck's ''[[Flash (Jeff Beck album)|Flash]]'' which included Hammer's song "Escape", winner of the 1985 [[Grammy Award|Grammy]] award for "[[Best Rock Instrumental Performance]]".

===''Miami Vice'' and successes===
Hammer's original scores for three major motion pictures complement a long list of credits for documentaries, [[television movie]]s in the U.S., commercials, and [[station identification]]s. 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.<ref name="Schoenberg">{{cite book|last=Schoenberg|first=Richard|year=2004|title=Seventy-Nine/Eighty|publisher=Schoenberg & Associates|isbn=978-0-9748208-0-4}}</ref>

The popular success of his music on the series was evident after just one season when, on 2 November 1985, the ''Miami Vice Soundtrack'' hit number one on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Top Pop album charts.<ref name="Huey" /> 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 "[[Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance|Best Pop Instrumental Performance]]" and one for "[[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition|Best Instrumental Composition]]".<ref name="Huey" /> He also earned [[Primetime Emmy Award|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.'' The theme song he composed remained in use until the show ended its five-season run in 1989.

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]]'',<ref name="Larkin"/> 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.<ref name="Huey" /> 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 1990s===
In the early 1990s, Hammer toured with drummer Tony Williams. Notably, they featured as Jan Hammer / Tony Williams Group on July 4, 1991, at Spectrum de Montréal ([[Montreal International Jazz Festival]]).  The show was documented on both DVD and audio CD.

The 1990s saw a renewed focus on scoring, starting with ''[[I Come in Peace]]'' (a.k.a. ''Dark Angel'', composed in 1989 but released in 1990), ''Curiosity Kills'' and all twenty episodes of the British television series, ''[[Chancer]]'', several episodes of [[HBO]]'s ''[[Tales from the Crypt (TV series)|Tales from the Crypt]]''; a television spot for [[Amnesty International]], featuring Czech president [[Václav 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 (film)|Sunset Heat]]''.

"Crockett's Theme" was re-released with Hammer's theme tune for ''Chancer'' in the UK in 1991,<ref name="Larkin"/> after the former featured in a series of commercials for [[NatWest]].

Hammer's next project was as composer and performer of the original score for the Miramar Productions video album, ''[[Beyond the Mind's Eye]]''.<ref name="Huey" />

In late 1993 (and through 2000) Hammer was commissioned to compose all the original music for [[Nova (Czech TV)|TV Nova]], the first commercial television network in Eastern Europe, based in his native [[Czech Republic]], which had its launch on February 4, 1994. 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.

1994 saw Hammer recording ''Drive'', his first full-fledged album of original new non-soundtrack material under his name in several years.<ref name="Huey" /> 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.  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 scoring assignments included the NBC Movie of the Week, ''[[The Babysitter's Seduction (1996 film)|The Babysitter's Seduction]]'', ''The Secret Agent Club'', and ''The Corporate Ladder''.

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''.

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 ===
Hammer produced the original score for ''[[Cocaine Cowboys (2006 film)|Cocaine Cowboys]]'', a 2006 documentary depicting the infamous Miami drug trade scene of the 1980s. Hammer's soundtrack of the film was released in 2007.

Also in the autumn 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, [[Universal Studios Home Entertainment]] 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 song "Crockett's Theme". The result of their work was ''The Jan Hammer Project Featuring TQ ([[Terrance Quaites]]): Crockett's Theme''.  A CD single of this new version climbed up the charts in Europe, hitting No. 1 on the [[iTunes]] Europe download list.

In a 2012 interview, Hammer indicated that he is working on a compilation of unreleased works.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://missmusicnerd.com/an-interview-with-grammy-winner-jan-hammer/|title=An Interview With GRAMMY Winner Jan Hammer|author=Tracey, Ed|date=18 May 2011 |publisher=Miss Music Nerd|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref>

In a 2014 interview with the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' he claimed he always felt halfway between experimental music and prog-rock. He also claimed to have recorded the theme song for ''Miami Vice'' before the series was made, and that it had been the piece he presented to [[Michael Mann (director)|Michael Mann]] when announcing his interest of being involved with the series. He stated that he used a [[Fairlight CMI]] to compose the music to the series while sampling drums and percussion into it with real acoustic sound. He added that he would have been interested in scoring the [[Miami Vice (film)|2006 film version of ''Miami Vice'']], but that he was never approached by Michael Mann about it.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/songs-of-fire-and-vice-jan-hammer-on-the-music-of-miami-vice-20141008|title=Jan Hammer Reveals His 'Miami Vice' Scoring Secrets|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=Jesse|last=Serwer|date=8 October 2014|access-date=3 December 2017|archive-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211123546/http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/songs-of-fire-and-vice-jan-hammer-on-the-music-of-miami-vice-20141008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He recorded a version of the ''[[Squidbillies]]'' theme in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6319714/jan-hammer-squidbillies-theme|title=Jan Hammer of 'Miami Vice' Fame Records the 'Squidbillies' Theme|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|first=Elias|last=Leight|date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

On 20 July 2018 he released his first album of new material in over 10 years: ''Seasons - Part 1''.