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John Hicks (jazz pianist)
Encyclopedia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
– May 10, 2006) was an 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
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer, active in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the international jazz scene from the mid-1960s.
Biography
Hicks studied music at Lincoln UniversityLincoln University (Missouri)
Lincoln University, a historically black college, is located in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 2007, according to U.S. News and World Report, Lincoln University was ranked #3 for economic diversity, #5 for campus ethnic diversity, and #9 for most international students among master's level...
in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to New York in 1963.
He was a member of Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers (1964–1965) and occasionally in the 1970s, worked with Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
(1966–1968, 1975–1980), and was in one of Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
's groups (1968–1970). From the early 1980s until his death he performed solo and led his own groups including The Keystone Trio.
Hicks played and recorded with jazz artists such as Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
, David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
, David "Fathead" Newman, Pharaoh Sanders, George Mraz
George Mraz
George Mraz is a jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and has worked with Stan Getz, Tommy Flanagan, Chet Baker and many other important jazz musicians...
, Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, and Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
amaong others. The pianist recorded the seventh instalment of the "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall
Maybeck Recital Hall
Maybeck Recital Hall, also known as Maybeck Studio for Performing Arts, is located inside the Kennedy-Nixon House in Berkeley, California, USA. It was built in 1914 by Bernard Maybeck. The hall seats up to 50 people and was designed upon commission for the Nixon family, local arts patrons who...
" series of solo concerts, which were recorded for Concord Records
Concord Records
Concord Records is a U.S. record label now based in Beverly Hills, California. Originally known as Concord Jazz, it was established in 1972 as an off-shoot of the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, California by festival founder Carl Jefferson, a local automobile dealer and jazz fan who sold his...
.
From 1983, the flautist Elise Wood was regularly a member of his groups. The couple married in 2001. Wood survives him, and has led a group dedicated to the performance of his music.
As Leader
- Hell's Bells (1978) - Strata-East RecordsStrata-East RecordsStrata-East Records is an American record label specialising in jazz which was founded in 1971 by Stanley Cowell and Charles Tolliver.Gil Scott-Heron recorded his 1974 album Winter in America with Brian Jackson for Strata-East. "The Bottle" featured on the album, was a popular single...
, with Clint HoustonClint HoustonClinton Joseph Houston was an American jazz double-bassist.Houston played with George Cables and Lenny White in the house band at Slugs, a club in New York City, then played with Nina Simone , Roy Haynes , Sonny Greenwich and Don Thompson , Roy Ayers , Charles Tolliver , Stan Getz , and Woody Shaw...
, Cliff Barbaro - After the Morning (1979) with Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
, Clifford Barbaro West 54 Records - Some Other Time (1981)
- John Hicks (1984)
- Sketches of TokyoSketches of TokyoSketches of Tokyo is an album by John Hicks and David Murray released on the Japanese DIW label. It was released in 1986 and features six duo performances by Murray and Hicks.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars.-Track listing:...
(1986) with David MurrayDavid Murray (jazz musician)David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:... - Luminous (1988)
- Two of a Kind (1989)
- Live at Maybeck Recital HallMaybeck Recital HallMaybeck Recital Hall, also known as Maybeck Studio for Performing Arts, is located inside the Kennedy-Nixon House in Berkeley, California, USA. It was built in 1914 by Bernard Maybeck. The hall seats up to 50 people and was designed upon commission for the Nixon family, local arts patrons who...
, Vol. 7 (1991) - In Concert (1993)
- Beyond Expectations (1994)
- Piece for My Peace (1996)
- Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook (1998)
- Hicks Time: Solo Piano (1999)
- Nightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook (1999)
- Impressions of Mary Lou (2000)
- Music in the Key of Clark: Remembering Sonny Clark (2002)
- Fatha's Day: An Earl Hines Songbook (2003)
- Sweet Love of Mine (2006)
- On the Wings of an Eagle (2007)
- I Remember You" (2009)
- Passion Flower (2009)
As Sideman
With Gary BartzGary Bartz
Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
- West 42nd Street (Candid, 1990)
With Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
- Fast Last!Fast Last!Fast Last! is an album by trumpeter Lester Bowie recorded for the Muse label and released in 1974. It features performances by Bowie, Julius Hemphill, John Hicks, John Stubblefield, Joseph Bowie, Bob Stewart, Cecil McBee, Jerome Cooper, Charles Shaw and Phillip Wilson.-Reception:The Allmusic review...
(Muse, 1974)
With Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe
Arthur Blythe is an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. His stylistic voice has a distinct vibrato and he plays within the post-bop subgenre of jazz.- Biography :...
- IllusionsIllusions (Arthur Blythe album)-Track listing:# "Bush Baby" - 6:28# "Miss Nancy" - 7:24# "Illusions" - 4:10# "My Son Ra" - 5:59# "Carespin' With Mamie" - 7:04# "As of Yet" - 5:04*Recorded at CBS Recording Studios, New York in April & May 1980.-Personnel:*Arthur Blythe - alto saxophone...
(Columbia, 1980) - Blythe SpiritBlythe Spirit-Track listing:# "Contemplation" - 6:54 # "Faceless Woman" - 6:41# "Reverence" - 6:25# "Strike up the Band" - 2:44 # "Misty" - 7:24# "Spirits in the Field" - 3:29...
(Columbia, 1981)
With Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
- The Audience with Betty CarterThe Audience with Betty CarterThe Audience with Betty Carter is a 1979 live double album by the American jazz singer Betty Carter. It is considered by some critics to be the finest jazz vocal performance ever recorded....
(Bet-Car, 1979)
With Booker Ervin
Booker Ervin
Booker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus....
- Structurally SoundStructurally SoundStructurally Sound is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin recorded in 1967 and released on the Pacific Jazz label. The album was rereleased on CD in 2001 on the Blue Note label with four bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Pacific Jazz, 1966)
With Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...
- Spirit SensitiveSpirit SensitiveSpirit Sensitive is a hard-bop jazz album by Chico Freeman on India Navigation Records IN 1045.The LP, in contrast to many of his more avant-garde recordings of the same time frame, is a set that consists of jazz standards.-Criticism:...
(India Navigation, 1979)
With Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
- Hi VoltageHi Voltage- Track listing :# "High Voltage" - 8:09# "Two and One" - 6:09# "No More Goodbyes" - 5:41# "Advance Notion" - 5:57# "Bossa De Luxe" - 7:31# "Flirty Gerty" - 7:00*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 9, 1967- Personnel :...
(Blue Note, 1967)
With Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
- TaruTaru (album)Taru is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and released on the Blue Note label. The album features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, John Hicks, George Benson, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1968)
With David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
- Morning SongMorning Song (album)Morning Song is the sixth album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. It was released in 1983 and features performances by Murray, John Hicks, Reggie Workman and Ed Blackwell.-Reception:...
(Black Saint, 1983) - I Want to Talk About YouI Want to Talk About YouI Want to Talk About You is the eleventh album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label. It was released in 1985 and features a live performance by Murray, John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Ralph Peterson.-Track listing:...
(Black Saint, 1986) - Ming's SambaMing's SambaMing's Samba is an album by David Murray released on the Portrait label. It was released in 1988 and features five quartet performances by Murray with John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Ed Blackwell.-Reception:...
(Portrait, 1988) - Fast Life (DIW/Columbia, 1991)
- Ballads for Bass ClarinetBallads for Bass ClarinetBallads for Bass Clarinet is an album by David Murray released on the Japanese DIW label. Recorded on October 14 and 15, 1991, and released in 1993, the album features six quartet performances by Murray with Idris Muhammad, John Hicks and Ray Drummond....
(DIW, 1991) - MXMX (album)MX is the second album by David Murray to be released on Bob Thiele's Red Baron label. It was released in 1993 and features performances by Murray, Ravi Coltrane, Bobby Bradford, John Hicks, Fred Hopkins and Victor Lewis...
(Red Baron, 1992) - Jazzosaurus RexJazzosaurus RexJazzosaurus Rex is an album by David Murray released on Bob Thiele's Red Baron label. It was released in 1993 and features performances by Murray, John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Andrew Cyrille.-Reception:...
(Red Baron, 1993) - SaxmenSaxmenSaxmen is the third album by David Murray to be released on Bob Thiele's Red Baron label. It was released in 1993 and features performances by Murray, John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Andrew Cyrille.-Reception:...
(Red Baron, 1993) - For Aunt LouiseFor Aunt LouiseFor Aunt Louise is an album by David Murray which was released on the Japanese DIW label. Recorded in 1993 and released in 1995 the album features performances by Murray, John Hicks, Fred Hopkins, and Idris Mohammad.-Reception:...
(DIW, 1993) - David Murray/James Newton QuintetDavid Murray/James Newton QuintetDavid Murray/James Newton Quintet is an album by David Murray and James Newton released on the Japanese DIW label. It was released in 1996 and features seven quintet performances by Murray and Newton with John Hicks, Fred Hopkins, Billy Hart and Andrew Cyrille.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded...
(DIW, 1996) - Like a Kiss that Never EndsLike a Kiss that Never EndsLike a Kiss that Never Ends is an album by David Murray released on the Justin Time label. Recorded in 2000 and released in 2001 the album features performances by Murray, Andrew Cyrille, John Hicks and Ray Drummond.-Reception:...
(Justin Time, 2000)
External links
- http://www.ejn.it/mus/hicks.htm
- http://www.mp3.com/john-hicks/artists/5737/biography.html
- http://www.johnhicksmusic.com/
- http://www.onsoundandmusic.com/issues/0408/0408-hicks.html
- Obituary in The Guardian (London) by Peter Vacher, May 12, 2006