Billy Higgins
Encyclopedia
Billy Higgins was an American
jazz drummer
. He played mainly free jazz
and hard bop
.
Higgins was born in Los Angeles
, California
. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman
's first records, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively with hard bop
and other post-bop
players, including Donald Byrd
, Dexter Gordon
, Joe Henderson
, Milt Jackson
, Jackie McLean
, Pat Metheny
, Hank Mobley
, Thelonious Monk
, Lee Morgan
, David Murray
, Art Pepper
, Sonny Rollins
, Mal Waldron
, and Cedar Walton
. He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records
and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 60's.
On a whole, he played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock
and funk
. He appeared as a jazz drummer in the 2001 movie Southlander
.
In 1989, Higgins cofounded a cultural center, The World Stage
, in Los Angeles
to encourage and promote younger jazz musicians. The center provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings. Higgins also taught in the jazz studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles
.
He was divorced from wife Mauricina Altier Higgins and had three sons, William, Joseph, and David, as well as a stepson Jody. His youngest son Benjamin resides in Los Angeles. He also had two daughters, Rickie Wade and Heidi. He died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001 at a hospital in Inglewood
, California.
With Donald Byrd
With Joe Castro
With Sonny Clark
With Ornette Coleman
With John Coltrane
With Bill Cosby
With Booker Ervin
With Stan Getz
With Dexter Gordon
With Grant Green
With Charlie Haden
With Herbie Hancock
With Andrew Hill
With Freddie Hubbard
With Bobby Hutcherson
With Clifford Jordan
With Steve Lacy
With Charles Lloyd
With Jackie McLean
With Pat Metheny
With Blue Mitchell
With Hank Mobley
With Thelonious Monk
With Lee Morgan
With David Murray
With Horace Parlan
With Art Pepper
With Dave Pike
With Jimmy Raney
With Joshua Redman
With Sonny Rollins
With John Scofield
With Archie Shepp
With Sun Ra
With Cecil Taylor
With Bobby Timmons
With Mal Waldron
With Don Wilkerson
With Jack Wilson
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz drummer
Jazz drumming
Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz...
. He played mainly free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
and hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
.
Higgins was born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
's first records, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively with hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
and other post-bop
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...
players, including Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson
Milton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
, Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, 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...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, 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:...
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
, and Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
. He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 60's.
On a whole, he played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
. He appeared as a jazz drummer in the 2001 movie Southlander
Southlander
Southlander is an American independent film by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris.Originally titled Recycler after the Los Angeles magazine of the same name, the filmwriters changed the name of the movie—and a central plot device—to Southlander to avoid trademark issues.- Plot :Down-and-out...
.
In 1989, Higgins cofounded a cultural center, The World Stage
The World Stage
The World Stage is an educational and performance arts gallery in Leimert Park Village, Los Angeles. The Stage, as it is affectionately called, was founded in 1989 by the late jazz drummer Billy Higgins and by poet and community arts activist Kamau Daáood....
, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to encourage and promote younger jazz musicians. The center provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings. Higgins also taught in the jazz studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
He was divorced from wife Mauricina Altier Higgins and had three sons, William, Joseph, and David, as well as a stepson Jody. His youngest son Benjamin resides in Los Angeles. He also had two daughters, Rickie Wade and Heidi. He died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001 at a hospital in Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, California.
As leader
- 1979: Soweto (Red RecordsRed RecordsRed Records is an Italian jazz record label established in 1976.Artists who have recorded for the label include Joe Henderson, Bobby Watson, Billy Higgins, Roberto Gatto, Franco d'Andrea, Dave Liebman, Cedar Walton, Edward Simon, Stafford James, Ray Mantilla, Jim Snidero, Black Note, Julius...
) - 1979: The Soldier (Timeless RecordsTimeless RecordsTimeless Records is a jazz record label from The Netherlands.Timeless was founded in Wageningen in 1975 by Wim Wigt. It has specialized in bebop, though it also did a subseries of important releases of Dixieland and swing recordings. As of ca...
) - 1980: Bridgework (Fantasy/Contemporary)
- 1984: Mr. Billy Higgins (Evidence)
- 1985: Essence (DMP)
- 1994: 3/4 For Peace (Red)
- 1995: Once More (Red)
- 1997: Billy Higgins Quintet (Evidence)
- 2001: The Best of Summer Nights at Moca (Exodus)
As a sideman
With Sandy BullSandy Bull
Alexander "Sandy" Bull was an American folk musician who was active from the late 1950s until his death.Born in New York City, he was the only child of Harry A. Bull, an editor in chief of...
- Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo (Vanguard, 1963)
- Inventions (Vanguard, 1965)
With Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
- Royal FlushRoyal Flush (album)Royal Flush is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Pepper Adams, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4101...
(Blue Note, 1961) - Free FormFree Form (album)Free Form is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring Byrd with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label in 1962. It was remastered in 2003 and reissued on CD...
(Blue Note, 1962) - Blackjack (Blue Note, 1967)
- Slow DragSlow Drag (album)Slow Drag is a jazz album by trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1967 and released on the Bue Note label as BST 84292.- Track listing :# "Slow Drag" – 9:47# "Secret Love" – 3:58# "Book's Bossa" – 6:52...
(Blue Note, 1967)
With Joe Castro
Joe Castro (musician)
Joe Castro was an American bebop jazz pianist, based primarily on the West Coast of the United States.-Biography:...
- Groove Funk Soul! (1958)
With Sonny Clark
Sonny Clark
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
- Leapin' and Lopin'Leapin' and Lopin'Leapin' and Lopin is a 1961 album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark, released on Blue Note Records. Michael Nastos of Allmusic writes that "Top to bottom Leapin' and Lopin' is a definitive recording for Clark, and really for all time in the mainstream jazz idiom." All About Jazz stated "Although...
(1961)
With Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
- Something Else!!!!Something Else!!!!Something Else!!!! is the 1958 debut album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. According to All Music, the album "shook up the jazz world", revitalizing the union of blues and jazz and restoring "blues to their 'classic' beginnings in African music"...
(Contemporary, 1958) - The Shape of Jazz to ComeThe Shape of Jazz to ComeThe Shape of Jazz to Come is an influential album by Ornette Coleman. It was his debut album for Atlantic Records who released it in late 1959....
(Atlantic, 1959) - Change of the CenturyChange of the CenturyChange of the Century is an album, recorded in 1959 and originally released in 1960, by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman . This was Coleman's second Atlantic album and his fourth overall...
(Atlantic, 1959) - The Art of the ImprovisersThe Art of the ImprovisersThe Art of the Improvisers is an album by the American jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman featuring tracks recorded between 1959 and 1961 which was first released on the Atlantic label in 1970.-Reception:...
(Atlantic, 1959) - TwinsTwins (Ornette Coleman album)Twins is an album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman. Recorded between 1959 and 1961 for Atlantic, it was only released in 1971...
(Atlantic, 1961) - Science FictionScience Fiction (Ornette Coleman album)Science Fiction is an album by the American jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman recorded in 1971 and released on the Columbia label.-Reception:...
(Columbia, 1971)
With John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- Like Sonny (Roulette, 1960)
With Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
- Hello, Friend: To Ennis With Love (Verve, 1997)
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....
- Tex Book TenorTex Book TenorTex Book Tenor is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring the last performances Ervin recorded as a leader in 1968 for the Blue Note label...
(Blue Note, 1968)
With Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
- The Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet (1958, Fantasy)
With Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
- GoGo (Dexter Gordon album)-Personnel:*Dexter Gordon – tenor saxophone*Sonny Clark – piano*Butch Warren – bass*Billy Higgins – drums...
(Blue Note, 1962) - ClubhouseClubhouse (album)Clubhouse is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in 1965 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1979.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1965 - released 1979) - Gettin' AroundGettin' AroundGettin' Around is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in 1965 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD reissue added two additional recordings from the sessions as bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1965) - The Other Side of Round MidnightThe Other Side of Round MidnightThe Other Side of Round Midnight is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in 1985 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was recorded during the making of for Bertrand Tavernier's 1986 film Round Midnight which also produced the Academy Award-winning soundtrack album...
(Blue Note, 1985)
With Grant Green
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- First SessionFirst SessionFirst Session is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances by Green recorded in 1960 and 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 2001. The album features the first recordings made by Green for Blue Note which were held back from release in favour of a later...
(Blue Note, 1961) - Goin' WestGoin' WestGoin' West is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1969...
(Blue Note, 1962) - Feelin' the SpiritFeelin' the SpiritFeelin' the Spirit is an album by jazz guitarist Grant Green originally issued on Blue Note Records as BLP 4132 and BST 84132. Consisting purely of jazz versions of African American spirituals, it is one of a series of theme records recorded by the guitarist in 1962.From the original liner notes:...
(Blue Note, 1962)
With Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
- Quartet WestQuartet WestQuartet West is an album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1986 and released on the Verve label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stacia Proefrock awarded the album 5 stars stating "While the album may not be stretching many boundaries stylistically, this format does little to...
(Verve, 1986) - SilenceSilence (Charlie Haden album)Silence is an album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1987 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4½ stars.-Track listing:# "Visa" - 5:48# "Silence" - 8:45...
(Soul Note, 1987) - First SongFirst SongFirst Song is an album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1990 and released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1992.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "First Song" - 10:06...
(Soul Note, 1990 [1992])
With Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- Takin' OffTakin' OffTakin' Off is the debut album of jazz pianist Herbie Hancock originally released in 1962 for the Blue Note label as BST 84109. The recording session included Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and veteran Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone. The album was a typical hard bop LP, with its characteristic two...
(Blue Note, 1962) - Round Midnight (soundtrack)Round Midnight (Soundtrack)Round Midnight is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music recorded for Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight released in 1986 on Columbia Records...
(Columbia, 1985)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- Dance with DeathDance with DeathDance with Death is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill featuring performances recorded in 1968 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980...
(Blue Note, 1968 - not released until 1980)
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...
- BoliviaBolivia (album)Bolivia is an album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard recorded in December 1990 and January 1991 and released on the Music Master label. It features performances by Hubbard, Ralph Moore, Vincent Herring, Cedar Walton, David Williams, and Billy Higgins...
(Music Master, 1991)
With Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
- Stick-UpStick-Up!Stick-Up! is an album by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, released on the Blue Note label in 1966. The album is Hutcherson's first without drummer Joe Chambers...
(Blue Note, 1969) - Solo / QuartetSolo / QuartetSolo / Quartet is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1981 and 1982 and released on the Contemporary label.-Reception:...
(Contemporary, 1982)
With Clifford Jordan
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
- Glass Bead Game (1973, 2 vols.; reissued in 2006 as Glass Bead Games)
With Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
- EvidenceEvidence (Steve Lacy album)Evidence is the fourth album by Steve Lacy and was released on the New Jazz label in 1962. It features performances of four tunes written by Thelonious Monk and two from Duke Ellington by Lacy, Don Cherry, Carl Brown and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(1962) with Don CherryDon Cherry (jazz)Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
With Charles Lloyd
- Acoustic Masters IAcoustic Masters I-Track listing:# "Blues for Bill" – 9:48# "Clandestine" – 9:08# "Sweet Georgia Bright" – 5:52# "Lady Day" – 7:13# "Green Chimneys" – 5:50# "Strivers Jewels" – 5:23...
(Atlantic, 1993) - Voice in the NightVoice in the NightVoice in the Night is an album by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd recorded in May 1998 by Lloyd with John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1999) - The Water Is WideThe Water Is Wide (album)-Track listing:# "Georgia" - 6:38# "The Water Is Wide" - 5:02# "Black Butterfly" - 4:36# "Ballade and Allegro" - 3:45# "Figure in Blue" - 5:13...
(ECM, 2000) - Hyperion with HigginsHyperion with Higgins-Track listing:# "Dancing Waters, Big Sur to Bahia" - 5:54# "Bharati" - 7:01# "Secret Life of the Forbidden City" - 10:05# "Miss Jessye" - 10:24# "Hyperion With Higgins" - 7:20...
(ECM, 2001, released posthumously) - Which Way Is EastWhich Way Is East-Track listing:# "What Is Man: The Forest" - 3:34# "What Is Man: Being and Becoming" - 4:45# "What Is Man: Civilization" - 4:35# "What Is Man: Sea of Tranquility" - 2:43# "Divans: Prayer, Sanctuary" - 4:12# "Divans: Supreme Love Dance" - 3:36...
(ECM, 2004, released posthumously)
With Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
- A Fickle SonanceA Fickle SonanceA Fickle Sonance is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Al Campbell awarded the album 3 stars and stated -Track listing:...
(Blue Note, 1961) - Action Action ActionAction Action ActionAction Action Action is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1964) - ConsequenceConsequence (album)Consequence is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1965 but not released until 1979 as part of a Mosaic Records box set and finally released on the Blue Note label in 2005.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1965 [2005]) - New and Old GospelNew and Old GospelNew and Old Gospel is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars and stated "This is one legendary Blue Note date that isn't mentioned often enough in that label's great...
(Blue Note, 1967)
With Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
- Rejoicing (1983)
With Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
- Bring It Home to MeBring It Home to MeBring It Home to Me is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1966 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars.-Track listing:# "Bring It Home to Me" - 7:58...
(1966)
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...
- The TurnaroundThe Turnaround- Track listing :# "The Turnaround" - 8:15# "East of the Village" - 6:44# "The Good Life" - 5:08# "Straight Ahead" - 7:02# "My Sin" - 6:53...
(Blue Note, 1965) - Dippin'Dippin'Dippin' is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1965.-Track listing:# "The Dip" - 7:54# "Recado Bossa Nova" - 8:09# "The Break Through" - 5:49# "The Vamp" - 8:19...
(Blue Note, 1965) - A Caddy for DaddyA Caddy for Daddy- Track listing :*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 18, 1965- Personnel :* Hank Mobley — tenor saxophone* Curtis Fuller — trombone* Lee Morgan — trumpet* McCoy Tyner — piano* Bob Cranshaw — bass* Billy Higgins — drums...
(Blue Note, 1965) - A Slice of the TopA Slice of the Top- Track listing :# "Hank's Other Bag" – 7:12# "There's a Lull in My Life" – 5:25# "Cute 'N Pretty" – 7:36# "Touch of Blue" – 8:46...
(Blue Note, 1966 [1979]) - 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) - Reach Out!Reach Out (Hank Mobley album)Reach Out is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on January 19, 1968 and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Mobley with Woody Shaw, George Benson, Lamont Johnson, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins.- Track listing :...
(Blue Note, 1968) - Breakthrough!Breakthrough! (album)Breakthrough! is an album by the Cedar Walton/Hank Mobley Quintet recorded on February 22, 1972, and released on the Muse label. It features performances by Hank Mobley and Cedar Walton with Charles Davis, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "As strong as pianist...
(Muse, 1972) with Cedar WaltonCedar WaltonCedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas... - Straight No FilterStraight No FilterStraight No Filter is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label. It features performances recorded at four different sessions from 1963 to 1966.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1964-66 [1980])
With Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
- Thelonious Monk at the BlackhawkThelonious Monk at the BlackhawkThelonious Monk at the Blackhawk is an album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. It was originally issued on the Riverside label as RLP 12-323 /1171 and Original Jazz Classics OJCCD 305-2 in 1987.-Track listing:...
(Riverside, 1960)
With Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
- The SidewinderThe SidewinderThe Sidewinder is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood, New Jersey. It was released on Blue Note label as BLP 4157 and BST 84157. The title track was one of the defining recordings of the soul jazz genre, becoming a jazz standard. An edited version...
(Blue Note, 1963) - Search for the New LandSearch for the New LandSearch for the New Land is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan. A hard bop set with a group of well-known jazz musicians, Search for the New Land was recorded before The Sidewinder was released and is considered more abstract than its popular predecessor...
(Blue Note, 1964) - The RumprollerThe RumprollerThe Rumproller is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 21, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1965) - The GigoloThe GigoloThe Gigolo is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on June 25 & July 1, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Harold Mabern, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins....
(Blue Note, 1965) - CornbreadCornbread (album)Cornbread is an jazz album by trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1966. It features performances by Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley and Larry Ridley.-Track listing:...
(Blue Note, 1965) - InfinityInfinity (Lee Morgan album)Infinity is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 16, 1965 but not released until 1980 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Jackie McLean, Larry Willis, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.-Reception:The Allmusic...
(Blue Note, 1965 [1980]) - DelightfuleeDelightfuleeDelightfulee is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 8 & May 27, 1966 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins and a big band featuring Ernie Royal, Tom...
(Blue Note, 1966) - CharismaCharisma (album)Charisma is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on September 29, 1966 and features performances by Morgan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1966) - The RajahThe Rajah (album)The Rajah is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 29, 1966 but not released until 1984 and features performances by Morgan, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins....
(Blue Note, 1966 [1984]) - StandardsStandards (Lee Morgan album)Standards is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on January 13, 1967 but not released until 1998 and features performances by Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, James Spaulding, Pepper Adams and Mickey Roker with...
(Blue Note, 1967, [1998]) - Sonic BoomSonic Boom (Lee Morgan album)Sonic Boom is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 14 & 28 1967 with the CD reissue adding tracks recorded on September 12 & October 10, 1969 which were first released on the original double LP edition of The Procrastinator. The album now...
(Blue Note, 1967 [1979]) - The ProcrastinatorThe ProcrastinatorThe Procrastinator is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on July 14, 1967 and features performances by Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1967 [1978]) - 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 [1980]) - Caramba!Caramba!¡Caramba! is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and released on the Blue Note label. The album features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins with arrangements by Cal Massey.-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:...
- Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1 is the seventh album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label and the first to feature his Big Band...
(Black Saint, 1984) - Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2 is the ninth album by David Murray to be released on the Italian Black Saint label and the second to feature his Big Band...
(Black Saint, 1984)
With Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
- Happy Frame of MindHappy Frame of MindHappy Frame of Mind is the seventh album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1988...
(Blue Note, 1963)
With Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
- LandscapeLandscape (Art Pepper album)Landscape is a live 1979 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper playing with George Cables, Tony Dumas and Billy Higgins.The album was recorded at Shiba Yubin Chokin Hall, Tokyo.-Track listing:#"True Blues" — 8:07...
(Galaxy, 1979) - Straight LifeStraight Life (Art Pepper album)Straight Life is a 1979 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper playing with Tommy Flanagan, Red Mitchell, Billy Higgins and Kenneth Nash.Some versions have the bonus track "Long Ago And Far Away".-Track listing:#"Surf Ride" – 6:57...
(Galaxy, 1979)
With Dave Pike
Dave Pike
David Samuel Pike is a jazz vibraphone player. He learned drums at the age of eight and is self-taught on vibes. He has also played marimba, particularly with Herbie Mann. Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, and Cal Tjader were early inspirations for him.Pike made his recording debut with the Paul Bley...
- It's Time For Dave Pike (1961)
With Jimmy Raney
Jimmy Raney
Jimmy Raney was an American jazz guitarist born in Louisville, Kentucky most notable for his work from 1951–1952 and 1962–1963 with Stan Getz and for his work from 1953–1954 with the Red Norvo trio, replacing Tal Farlow. In 1954 and 1955 he won the Down Beat critics poll for guitar...
- The InfluenceThe Influence (album)The Influence is a jazz guitar album by jazz guitarist Jimmy Raney, recorded in 1975 for Xanadu Records.-Track listing:#"I Love You"#"Body and Soul"#"It Could Happen To You"#"Suzanne"#"Get Out of Town"#"There Will Never Be Another You"...
(Xanadu, 1975)
With Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who records for Nonesuch Records. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991.-Biography:...
- WishWish (Joshua Redman album)-Track listing:# "Turnaround" - 6:24# "Soul Dance" - 6:33# "Make Sure You're Sure" - 5:26# "The Deserving Many" - 5:40# "We Had a Sister" - 5:47...
(1993)
With Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
- Our Man in JazzOur Man in JazzOur Man in Jazz is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the RCA Victor label, featuring July 1962 performances by Rollins with Don Cherry, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins...
(RCA Victor, 1965) - There Will Never Be Another YouThere Will Never Be Another You (album)There Will Never Be Another You is a live album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York City on June 17, 1965 and released on the Impulse! label in 1978, featuring a performance by Rollins with Tommy Flanagan, Bob Cranshaw, Billy Higgins and Mickey...
(recorded 1965 released 1978)
With John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
- Works for MeWorks for Me (John Scofield album)Works For Me is an album by John Scofield which was released on January 30, 2001 by Verve Records. It was produced by Richard Seidel and recorded & mixed by James Farber.-Track listing:#I'll Catch You#Not You Again#Big J#Loose Canon#Love You Long Time...
(Verve, 2000)
With Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
- Attica BluesAttica Blues (album)Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. Originally released in 1972 on the Impulse! label, the album title is a direct reference to the Attica Prison riots...
(Impulse!, 1972)
With Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
- Blue DelightBlue Delight-Track listing:#"Blue Delight" - 11:10#"Out of Nowhere" - 5:26#"Sunrise" - 11:48#"They Dwell on Other Planes" - 14:41#"Gone with the Wind" - 5:51#"Your Guest is as Good as Mine" - 5:53#"Nashira" - 4:09...
(A&M, 1989)
With Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
- Jumpin' PunkinsJumpin' PunkinsJumpin' Punkins is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded for the Candid label in January 1961 but not issued in the States until 1987. The first release was in Japan by CBS/Sony in 1974. The album features performances by Taylor with Archie Shepp, Buell Neidlinger and Denis Charles with Billy Higgins,...
(Candid, 1961) - New York City R&BNew York City R&BNew York City R&B is a 1961 free jazz album originally recorded at a session by bassist Buell Neidlinger but subsequently reissued under joint names with the pianist Cecil Taylor. It was produced by Nat Hentoff...
(Candid, 1961)
With Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
- Soul FoodSoul Food (Bobby Timmons album)Soul Food is an album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1966 and released on the Prestige label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "Souce Meat" - 4:06# "Turkey Wings" - 5:35...
(Prestige, 1966) - Got to Get It!Got to Get It!Got to Get It! is an album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1967 and released on the Milestone label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny awarded the album 3 stars stating "Purists may blanch, but Bobby Timmons' Milestone label debut Got to Get It! is an otherwise...
(Milestone, 1967)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- Up Popped the DevilUp Popped the DevilUp Popped the Devil is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1973 and released by the Enja label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Bob Rusch awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Pianist Mal Waldron's music is characterized by a heavily-brooding rhythmic quality, with the left...
(Enja, 1973) - One Entrance, Many ExitsOne Entrance, Many ExitsOne Entrance, Many Exits is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1982 and released by the Palo Alto label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars stating "the combination of musicians works quite well...
(Palo Alto, 1982)
With Don Wilkerson
Don Wilkerson
Don Wilkerson was an American soul jazz / R&B tenor saxophonist born in Moreauville, Louisiana, probably better known for his Blue Note Records recordings in the 1960s as bandleader with guitarist Grant Green. Prior to signing with the label, he worked frequently with Cannonball Adderley...
- The Texas TwisterThe Texas TwisterThe Texas Twister is the debut album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1960 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:...
(1960) - Preach Brother!Preach Brother!Preach Brother! is an album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The result is another fine record that proves Wilkerson was one of the best,...
(1962)
With Jack Wilson
Jack Wilson (jazz pianist)
Jack Wilson was an American jazz pianist and composer.-Early life:Wilson was born in Chicago on August 3, 1936, moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana at age seven. From 1949-54, he studied piano with Carl Atkinson at the Fort Wayne College of Music...
- Easterly WindsEasterly WindsEasterly Winds is an album by American jazz pianist Jack Wilson featuring performances recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1967.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1967)
External links
- [ Billy Higgins at Allmusic]
- Paean by Tony Gieske