Clint Eastwood took centre stage at a music gala in California last week (ends06May12) to honour his jazz hero Ahmad Jamal.
The actor/director is a big fan of the legendary pianist and included his music in his 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County, so he was delighted to be given the chance to present Jamal with an award at the Sfjazz Gala in San Fransisco, California on Friday (04May12).
Eastwood paid tribute to his hero and expressed his love of jazz in a speech before handing the Honouree Award to Jamal, telling the crowd, "Jazz is a true American art form. It was born in this country, and it can't be imitated anywhere else. And that includes the Western movie, too..." adding of Jamal, "The thing is what he doesn't play; it's what's in between the notes."
Comedian Chris Tucker was another honouree at the event, receiving the Naacp/Sfjazz Humanitarian prize, while the night also featured a video message from music legend Stevie Wonder.