What Is Jan Hammer's Net Worth?
Jan Hammer is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer who has a net worth of $20 million. Jan Hammer played keyboard with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and later composed film scores for various films and television series, most notably "Miami Vice."
Early Life
Jan Hammer was born on April 17, 1948, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. His mother was the well-known Czech singer Vlasta Pruchova, while his father was a doctor who played music in order to work his way through school. At the age of four, Hammer began playing the piano and then he took formal lessons two years later. Though he was initially interested in following his father into medicine, he ultimately decided to focus on his musical interests instead. While in high school, Jan formed a jazz trio that performed throughout Eastern Europe. He then gained entrance to the Prague Academy of Musical Arts, where he completed challenging coursework in music history, composition, harmony, and counterpoint. After Czechoslovakia was invaded in 1968, Hammer's studies at the academy were cut short. He decided to move to the United States and received a scholarship at the Berklee School of Music in Boston.
Mahavishnu Orchestra
After completing his studies at Berklee, Hammer spent a year touring with Sarah Vaughan and then recorded with Elvis Jones and Jeremey Steig. He later moved to New York City and joined the original lineup of the Mahavishnu Orchestra along with John McLaughlin, Jerry Goodman, Rick Laird, and Billy Cobham in 1971. The group became a successful jazz fusion band that performed over 500 shows before giving a farewell concert in December of 1973.
Jan Hammer (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
Solo Career
Hammer then embarked upon his solo career. He released the album "The First Seven Days" in 1975. The album was produced and recorded at Red Gate Studio, a studio that he had built in his upstate New York farmhouse. The next year, Hammer featured with the legendary guitarist Jeff Beck on Beck's RIAA platinum album "Wired." The two then embarked on a 117-show tour which resulted in the album "Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live" album. The album was later certified gold. The Jan Hammer group was officially then formed.
In 1977, Hammer recorded the album "Elegant Gypsy" with the guitarist Al Di Meola. They later recorded "Casino," "Splendido Hotel," and "Electric Rendezvous" together. Jan joined Di Meola on tour, the Tour De Force tour. In 1983, he contributed heavily to the album "Scenario," using a Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer throughout the recordings. Other artists he worked with during the mid-1970s and into the 1980s included Joni Mitchell, Billy Cobham, Santana, Tommy Bolin, Stanley Clarke, and Harvey Mason.
Jan returned to his solo work in 1978 when he released "Black Sheep." He then formed a new band called Hammer and also wrote three songs for Jeff Beck's next album. One of the tracks he wrote for the album, "Star Cycle," later became the theme song for the British television series "The Tube."
In 1981, he formed Schon & Hammer with Neal Schon, the former guitarist for both Santana and Journey. The duo recorded "Untold Passion" in 1981 and "Here to Stay" in 1982. In 1983, he united with Jeff Beck for nine U.S. shows that raised money for the Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis organization, or A.R.M.S. Jan was also featured on Jeff Beck's album "Flash." The album included Hammer's song "Escape," which was the winner of the 1985 Grammy award in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category.
"Miami Vice" Theme
In 1984, Hammer was hired to score the series "Miami Vice." His resulting work was hugely successful as the "Miami Vice Soundtrack" hit number one on the "Billboard" Top Pop Albums charts in 1985. The following year, the "Miami Vice Theme" earned Hammer two awards at the Grammy Awards – Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Instrumental Composition. He also earned Emmy award nominations in 1985 and 1986 for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition. He left "Miami Vice" in 1988, though the theme song he created continued to be used.
Film Scores
Hammer released his next solo album, "Snapshots," in 1989. In the early 1990s, he toured with drummer Tony Williams. He also began focusing more of his energy on scoring. He scored for "Curiosity Kills," "Chancer," "I Come in Peace," "Tales from the Crypt," "Knight Rider 2000," and "The Taking of Beverly Hills," among other projects.
In 1994, Jan released "Drive," his first full album of original work not intended for soundtracks. He returned to his score and soundtrack work the following year with the series "Vanishing Son." He also worked on the music for "A Modern Affair," "In the Kingdom of the Blind the Man with One Eye is King," and "Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus."
In 2006, he produced the original score for "Cocaine Cowboys," a documentary about the Miami drug scene in the 1980s. He also collaborated with the singer and rapper TQ for a new version of his song "Crockett's Theme." The resulting work, "The Jan Hammer Project Featuring TQ: Crockett's Theme," became a #1 hit on the iTunes Europe download list.
In July 2018, Hammer released his first album of new material in over 10 years, "Seasons – Part I."
Personal Life
Hammer has not disclosed very much about his personal or romantic life. However, he did become a U.S. citizen in 1978. Additionally, he has a son named Paul, who is the frontman of the band Savoir Adore.
