Jamael Dean

Jamael Dean works as both pianist and producer, delivering harmonically sophisticated performances that favor expansive, boundary-pushing jazz and hip-hop. Recognized as a gifted player already in his teens, he surfaced during the 2010s in Los Angeles through performances alongside Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and his grandfather, drummer Donald Dean, before issuing his 2019 Stones Throw debut, Black Space Tapes.

Dean entered the world in 1998 in Bakersfield, California, where early exposure to music led him to begin violin studies in third grade. At nine he received a keyboard and quickly learned to play by ear without formal instruction. Under the tutelage of his grandfather—longtime Les McCann and Yusef Lateef drummer Donald Dean—he developed a passion for jazz and devoted much of his adolescence to both receiving mentorship and sharing stages with the veteran musician. During his high-school years he attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he studied with veteran pianists Doug Davis, Bill Cunliffe, and Eric Reed. Recognition arrived in several forms: participation in the 2014-2016 Thelonious Monk Institute National Performing Arts High School Septet, receipt of the 2016 Dolo Coker Scholarship, and selection for the 2016 Grammy Band Jazz Combo. His abilities also drew notice from figures on the broader Los Angeles jazz scene; saxophonist Kamasi Washington and bassist/singer Thundercat both invited him to tour while he was still completing high school. At the same time he began producing electronic beats on his computer, fusing jazz, funk, and hip-hop. After graduation he enrolled as a Jazz Performance major at the New School in New York City. In 2019 he issued his debut album, the genre-bending Black Space Tapes, on Stones Throw.