Congratulations to Jazz 91.9 WCLK radio personality, Jamal Ahmad (pronounced Ak-med). He received a proclamation from Atlanta City Council President, Ceasar Mitchell, Friday night during a surprise tribute and birthday celebration at the Museum Bar. Ahmad, who turns 39 years-old (again), was honored for his 21 years of service at Jazz 91.9 WCLK and for helping to elevate the city’s national profile as a mecca for R&B/Soul and Jazz vocalists and musicians.
Ahmad’s former Friday night radio program, The Sounds of Universal Love (S.O.U.L) played an integral role in exposing Atlanta to numerous Black “underground” Soul and Jazz artists from the mid 90’s til the early 2000’s. Many of the singers that were birthed out of the “Neo-Soul” era like Maxwell, Floetry, Van Hunt, India.Arie, Incognito, Jill Scott, ErykahBadu, D'Angelo , Omar and Bilal, were first heard on Atlanta radio through his show and the late Ken Batie’s Hot Ice.
His current weekly show, The Soul of Jazz, can be heard from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on-air and online at WCLK.com. He is also a member of the music group, The DangerfeelNewbies, whose popular R&B song, “Always with Me,” was prominently featured on the last season of BET’s Being Mary Jane.
Friday night's celebration also served as a CD release party for noted keyboardist, Justin C. Gilbert, whose album “Aligned,” came out last week. Gilbert has worked with a number of musical heavy weights including Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Eminem, and the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin. He performed a few selections from the project which featured special guest appearances by electronic violinist, Ken Ford and vocalist, Latrese Bush.
Other notables that came out to celebrate Jamal Ahmad’s birthday and anniversary were trumpeter, Joey Sommerville and vocalists Chantae Cann, Rhonda Thomas, Alegebra and more!
Check out more photos below: