Tardo Hammer

Tardo Hammer was born in 1958 in Queens, New York, and began playing piano at the age of five. By his teens he was teaching himself the bebop language from recordings of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and other bebop masters, and in 1977 he settled into a Chelsea loft that became a hub for jam sessions. A bebop and post-bop stylist, he built a long career as a trio leader and a sideman, performing with Lou Donaldson, Bill Hardman, Junior Cook, Art Farmer, Clifford Jordan, Lionel Hampton, and Johnny Griffin. His recordings as a leader include the album Swinging on a Star. Hammer has also taught at the New School and the Lucy Moses School in New York.