Herbie Nichols
Encyclopedia
Herbie Nichols was an American jazz
pianist
and composer
who wrote the jazz standard
"Lady Sings the Blues
". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics.
to parents from St. Kitts and Trinidad
and grew up in Harlem
.
During much of Nichols's life he was forced to take work as a Dixieland
musician instead of playing the more adventurous kind of jazz he preferred, but he is best known today for his own highly original compositions, program music
which combines bop, Dixieland, and West Indian music with harmonies derived from Erik Satie
and Béla Bartók
.
His first known work was with the Royal Barons in 1937, but he did not find performing at Minton's Playhouse
a few years later a very happy experience. The competitive atmosphere did not suit his personality. However, he did become friends with fellow pianist Thelonious Monk
, even if his own critical neglect would be more enduring.
Nichols was drafted into the Infantry in 1941. After the war he worked in various setting, beginning to achieve some recognition when Mary Lou Williams
recorded some of his songs in 1952. From about 1947 he persisted in trying to persuade Alfred Lion
at Blue Note Records
to sign him up. He finally recorded some of his compositions for Blue Note in 1955 and 1956, a number of which were not issued until the 1980s. His tune "Serenade" had lyrics added, and as "Lady Sings the Blues
" became firmly identified with Billie Holiday
. In 1957 he recorded his last album for Bethlehem Records
. All of his recordings as leader have been released on CD
.
Nichols died from leukemia
in New York City
at the age of 44.
A biography, Herbie Nichols: A Jazzist's Life by Mark Miller, was published in 2009.
, who worked with Nichols in the early 1960s. Rudd has recorded or programmed at least three albums featuring Nichols' compositions, including The Unheard Herbie Nichols (1996) and a book The Unpublished Works (2000).
In 1984, the Steve Lacy
quintet with George Lewis
, Misha Mengelberg
, Han Bennink
and Arjen Gorter performed the music of Nichols at the Ravenna
Jazz Festival in Italy.
A New York group, the Herbie Nichols Project (part of the Jazz Composers' Collective) has recorded three albums largely dedicated to unrecorded Nichols' compositions, many of which Nichols had deposited in the Library of Congress
.
Compilations
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
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who wrote the jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
"Lady Sings the Blues
Lady Sings the Blues (song)
"Lady Sings the Blues" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday, and jazz pianist Herbie Nichols.It is the title song to her 1956 album, released on Clef/Verve Records ....
". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics.
Life
Nichols was born in San Juan Hill, ManhattanSan Juan Hill, Manhattan
San Juan Hill was a predominantly African American neighborhood of tenements on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, which was largely razed as part of urban renewal to make way for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts....
to parents from St. Kitts and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and grew up in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
.
During much of Nichols's life he was forced to take work as a Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
musician instead of playing the more adventurous kind of jazz he preferred, but he is best known today for his own highly original compositions, program music
Program music
Program music or programme music is a type of art music that attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience in the form of program notes, inviting imaginative correlations with the music...
which combines bop, Dixieland, and West Indian music with harmonies derived from Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
and Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
.
His first known work was with the Royal Barons in 1937, but he did not find performing at Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse
Minton’s Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem. Minton’s was founded by tenor saxophonist Henry Minton in 1938...
a few years later a very happy experience. The competitive atmosphere did not suit his personality. However, he did become friends with fellow pianist 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"...
, even if his own critical neglect would be more enduring.
Nichols was drafted into the Infantry in 1941. After the war he worked in various setting, beginning to achieve some recognition when Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
recorded some of his songs in 1952. From about 1947 he persisted in trying to persuade Alfred Lion
Alfred Lion
Alfred Lion was a Jewish German-born American record executive who co-founded Blue Note Records in 1939 Blue Note recorded many of the biggest names in jazz throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.-Biography:...
at 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...
to sign him up. He finally recorded some of his compositions for Blue Note in 1955 and 1956, a number of which were not issued until the 1980s. His tune "Serenade" had lyrics added, and as "Lady Sings the Blues
Lady Sings the Blues (song)
"Lady Sings the Blues" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday, and jazz pianist Herbie Nichols.It is the title song to her 1956 album, released on Clef/Verve Records ....
" became firmly identified with Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. In 1957 he recorded his last album for Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records
Bethlehem Records was a record label based in New York and Hollywood founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. It was bought by King Records in the early 1960s....
. All of his recordings as leader have been released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
Nichols died from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
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...
at the age of 44.
A biography, Herbie Nichols: A Jazzist's Life by Mark Miller, was published in 2009.
Influence
In recent years his music has been most energetically promoted by Roswell RuddRoswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
, who worked with Nichols in the early 1960s. Rudd has recorded or programmed at least three albums featuring Nichols' compositions, including The Unheard Herbie Nichols (1996) and a book The Unpublished Works (2000).
In 1984, the 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....
quintet with George Lewis
George Lewis
George Lewis may refer to:*George Lowys or Lewis , mayor of Winchelsea*George Lewis , track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago*George Lewis , New Orleans jazz clarinettist...
, Misha Mengelberg
Misha Mengelberg
Misha Mengelberg is a Dutch jazz pianist and composer. He won the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1961.-Biography:...
, Han Bennink
Han Bennink
Han Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
and Arjen Gorter performed the music of Nichols at the Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
Jazz Festival in Italy.
A New York group, the Herbie Nichols Project (part of the Jazz Composers' Collective) has recorded three albums largely dedicated to unrecorded Nichols' compositions, many of which Nichols had deposited in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Discography
As leader- 1955 The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 is the debut album by American jazz pianist Herbie Nichols featuring performances recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1955 as a 10 inch LP.-Reception:...
- with Art Blakey (drums), Al McKibbon (bass) - 1955 The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2 is the second album by American jazz pianist Herbie Nichols featuring performances recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1955 as a 10 inch LP.-Reception:...
- with Art Blakey (drums), Al McKibbon (bass) - 1956 Herbie Nichols TrioHerbie Nichols TrioHerbie Nichols Trio is the third album by American jazz pianist Herbie Nichols featuring performances recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1956.-Reception:...
- with Max Roach (drums), Teddy Kotick (bass) - 1957 Love, Gloom, Cash, LoveLove, Gloom, Cash, LoveLove, Gloom, Cash, Love is the final album by American jazz pianist Herbie Nichols featuring performances recorded and released on the Bethlehem label in 1957.-Reception:...
- with Dannie Richmond (drums), George Duvivier (bass)
Compilations
- 1997 The Complete Blue Note Recordings (recorded 1955-56) - with Al McKibbonAl McKibbonAl McKibbon was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz.In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced Ray Brown in Dizzy Gillespie's band, in which he played until 1950...
or Teddy KotickTeddy KotickTeddy Kotick was a jazz bassist who appeared as a sideman with many of the leading figures of the 1940s and 1950s, including Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Horace Silver, Phil Woods and Bill Evans....
(bass), Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "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....
or Max RoachMax RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
(drums)