Jamal made his first records in 1951 for the Okeh label with The Three Strings (which would later also be called The Ahmad Jamal Trio, although Jamal himself prefers not to use the term "trio"): the other members were guitarist Ray Crawford and a bassist, at different times Eddie Calhoun (1950–52), Richard Davis (2) (1953–54), and Israel Crosby (from 1954).