Ahmad Jamal, whose measured, spare piano style was an inspiration to generations of jazz musicians, died on Sunday at his home in Ashley Falls, Mass.
The cause was prostate cancer, his daughter, Sumayah Jamal, said.
That approach stood in marked contrast to the challengingly complex music known as bebop, which was sweeping the jazz world when Mr. Jamal began his career as a teenager in the mid-1940s.
Bebop pianists, following the lead of Bud Powell, became known for their virtuosic flurries of notes.
Mr. Jamal chose a different path, which proved equally influential.