Hilton Ruiz was a Puerto Rican American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz

Afro-Cuban jazz

Afro-Cuban jazz is an early form of Latin jazz that mixes Afro-Cuban rhythms with harmonies and musical timbre typical of Bebop. It was developed in the early 1940s by both Cuban musicians and Jazz musicians, with Dizzy Gillespie, Mario Bauza, Machito and Stan Kenton among some of the most notable...

 mold, but was also a talented bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

 player.

Ruiz began playing piano at the age of eight, and gigged with Freddie Hubbard

Freddie Hubbard

Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...

 and Joe Newman

Joe Newman (trumpeter)

Joseph Dwight Newman was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, best known for his time with Count Basie....

 when he was young. Later, he was Roland Kirk's main pianist from 1974 to 1977 and was featured on such records as The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color

The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color

The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color is an album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk originally released as a double LP, with side 4 appearing blank - although side 4 did have a hidden track, the contents of which are released as track #20 on the CD rerelease...

and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man

The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man

The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man is an album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk featuring performances by Kirk with Howard Johnson, Romeo Penque, Hilton Ruiz, Buster Williams, Charlie Persip, Joe Habao Texidor, Betty Neals, Maeretha Stewart, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Fred Moore, Wilton...

. Ruiz also recorded several solo albums between the 1980s and 2000s.

On May 19, 2006, Ruiz was found unconscious on Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street is a famous and historic street that spans the length of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. When founded in 1718, the city was originally centered around the French Quarter...

 in New Orleans. The police filed it as an accident. As a result, Ruiz was in a coma and eventually died at the age of 54. Ruiz was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey

Teaneck, New Jersey

Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....

.

He was laid to rest at Saint Raymond's Cemetery

Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx

Saint Raymond's Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 2600 Lafayette Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, New York City. The cemetery is composed of two separate locations: the older section , located west of the Hutchinson River Parkway; and the newer section , which is east of...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

As leader

• 1975 Piano Man
• 1977 Excition
• 1977 Steppin' Into Beauty
• 1981 The People's Music "Live at Jazz Unité, vol 1" (Jazz Unité 103)
• 1981 Green Street "Live at Jazz Unité, vol 2" (Jazz Unité 104)
• 1987 Something Grand
• 1988 El Camino
• 1989 Strut
• 1990 Doin' It Right
• 1991 A Moment's Notice
• 1992 Manhattan Mambo
• 1993 Heroes
• 1994 Hands on Percussion
• 1997 Island Eyes
• 1998 Rhythm in the House
• 2003 Enchantment
• 2004 New York Story
• 2005 Steppin' With TP - Dedicated to Tito Puente

As sideman

with Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...

• The Case of the 3 Sided Dream In Audio Color (1975)
• Other Folks' Music (1976)
• Kirkatron (1976)
• The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (1976)
• Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real (1977)

With Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...

• Rhythmstick
  Rhythmstick
  Rhythmstick is a 1990 album and video by Dizzy Gillespie and CTI Records All-Stars.-Tracklisting:#"Barbados" #"Friday Night at the Cadillac Club" #"Nana" #"Caribe"...
  
  (1990)

With Art Davis

Art Davis

Art Davis was a double-bassist, known for his work with various seminal jazz musicians including Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach.-Biography:...

• Reemergence (1980)

With Afro Blue Band

Afro Blue Band

-Personnel:*Arthur Barron*Steve Berrios *Lionel Cole*Glen Cronkhite*Jerry Gonzalez *Mark Levine *Dave Liebman *Mel Martin*Melton Mustafa *Steve Neil*Phoenix Rivera*Hilton Ruiz *Papo Vasquez...

 

• Impressions (1995)

With Abbey Lincoln

Abbey Lincoln

Anna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...

• Golden Lady (1980)

External links

• [ Allmusic.com entry]
• Pianist Hilton Ruiz Dies in New Orleans
• Biography at World Music Central.