Born in Queens, New York in 1958, Tardo Hammer began playing piano at age 5, and after dabbling with clarinet and guitar, returned to piano at age 13. By his mid teenage years he was listening heavily to jazz recordings of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and others and teaching himself to play that music on the piano and with other young musicians.

Hammer’s first professional appearance was on New Year’s Eve, 1973, when he and five other fifteen year olds entertained the revelers with renditions of Ornithology, Four, Round Midnight, Scrapple From the Apple, Buzzy and So What. They were fired shortly before midnight.

In 1977 Hammer took up residence in a Chelsea loft, where regular jam sessions took place. Supporting himself with a combination of gigs and teaching, he began to enjoy a reputation as one of the bright young pianists on the New York scene. He was also a regular at clubs such as Bradley’s, the Angry Squire, the Jazz Cultural Theater and the Star Cafe, where he was inspired by the influences of pianists Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, among others.

In the 80’s, Hammer began working with the Bill Hardman-Junior Cook Quintet, Lou Donaldson and the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quintet. He also worked with Lionel Hampton, Johnny Griffin and Charlie Rouse and performed in venues throughout the U.S. His recording debut was in 1986 with trumpeter Al Porcino’s group which featured Al Cohn and Mel Lewis.

In 1990, Hammer spent two months in Japan performing with a trio that included Vernel Fournier on drums and Victor Sproles on bass. He continued to appear internationally, in Europe and Japan, alongside featured performers including Annie Ross, Abbey Lincoln, Conte Candoli, Chubby Jackson and others.

By 1998, Hammer was increasingly active in New York, and had appeared on a number of CDs. Sharp Nine Records sought him out to record with his own trio, which includes Leroy Williams on drums and Dennis Irwin on bass. Hammer Time (1999) and Somethin’ Special (2001) both feature the trio and have been highly acclaimed.

Somethin’ Special was named as one of the top CDs of 2001 by Jazz Times Magazine, the Washington DC City Paper, and WDET jazz radio. Hammer’s trio, featuring Dennis Irwin on bass and Leroy Williams on drums, performed at the Jazz a Vienne Festival in Lyon, France, and Smoke and Sweet Basil jazz clubs in New York. Hammer toured Japan and appeared with the groups of Lou Donaldson and Charles Davis. He appeared along with Jon Hendricks in the Al Pacino movie, People I Know, which was released in January 2003.

2004 saw the release of the third trio CD for Sharp Nine, Tardo's Tempo, which was followed by trio tours in Spain and Italy.

Active as an educator, Hammer is on the faculty of the New School and the Lucy Moses School as well as conducting classes and lessons at clinics and colleges worldwide. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.