A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
John Hicks (1941-2006): Legendary, iconic, and innovative musician, composer, arranger, ensemble leader, producer, and teacher
A longtime fixture of the New York City jazz landscape, pianist John Hicks
was an artist of uncommon versatility, moving effortlessly from pop
standards to the avant-garde while retaining the dense physicality and
intense energy that were the hallmarks of his approach. Born December
12, 1941, in Atlanta, Hicks
was still an infant when his preacher father relocated the family to
Los Angeles. He spent the better part of his teen years in St. Louis,
and counted among his classmates there the young Lester Bowie. Hicks'
mother was his first piano teacher, and after a stint at Lincoln
University in Missouri he attended the Berklee School of Music and the
Juilliard School; he later cited influences spanning from Fats Waller to Thelonious Monk
to Methodist church hymns, and his catholic listening tastes were
instrumental in shaping his far-ranging skills as a player. After
touring in support of bluesman Albert King and hard bop tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, Hicks backed singer Della Reese during a 1963 New York club residency, and the city remained his home for the rest of his life. In the wake of stints with Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson, Hicks joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1964, collaborating alongside the likes of trumpeters Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Two years later, he signed on with singer Betty Carter, like Blakey a keen judge of emerging talent. Upon exiting Carter's band in 1968, Hicks spent the remainder of the decade with Woody Herman and entered the decade to follow as a first-call sideman. He also
moonlighted as an educator, and during the early '70s taught jazz and
improvisation at Southern Illinois University.
After backing Carter on her 1976 date Now It's My Turn, Hicks
returned to her backing group full-time. The exposure vaulted him to
new renown, and in 1979 he finally led his own studio effort, After the Morning. With 1981's Some Other Time, cut with bassist Walter Booker and drummer Idris Muhammad, Hicks
also emerged as a gifted composer, writing his best-known effort,
"Naima's Love Song," in honor of his young daughter. He recorded
prolifically in the years to follow, concentrating on solo and small
ensemble work including stints as member of the Power Trio and the Keystone Trio. He also served as the regular pianist with the Mingus Dynasty Band and for a time led his own big band. Hicks
enjoyed his greatest commercial success with a series of tribute LPs
celebrating the music of his mentors and influences, highlighted by
1998's Something to Live For (a collection of Billy Strayhorn compositions), 2000's Impressions of Mary Lou (Williams, of course), and 2003's Fatha's Day (honoring Earl Hines). Hicks' longest and most rewarding collaboration was his partnership with flutist Elise Wood,
which launched in 1983 and after several studio sessions and tours
culminated in marriage in 2001, around the time of the release of their
duo recording Beautiful Friendship. Hicks
died suddenly on May 10, 2006. Just three days earlier, he delivered
his final performance at Harlem's St. Mark's United Methodist Church,
where his father served as a minister prior to his own death. Hicks was 64 years old.
Pianist John Hicks was clearly one of America’s national
treasures and his extraordinary talents were prodigious and prolific. As
I recall, my first encounter with John Hicks was during my sophomore
year in high school in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Penn. I was performing
with pianist Geri Allen and bassist Duane Dauphin as the opening act
for a concert with Pharoah Sanders. John Hicks, drummer Idris Muhammad
and bassist Ray Drummond were performing with Pharoah as sidemen on that
gig. What made an indelible impression upon me that night was when
Hicks took the first solo-it was powerful, majestic and mystical. I was
spellbound by his propulsive, explosive lyricism, his fluency and his
absolute command of the instrument. I mean this cat could flat-out
swing. Hicks’ solo clearly defined for me the true artistry and genius
of a musical giant. It was an experience that elevated my sensibilities
and transformed me as an aspiring jazz drummer-because it was at that
moment I knew I had come to the realization that I wanted to be a jazz
artist and to pursue a career in music. Unbeknownst to me, several years
later, I would have the opportunity to experience John Hicks up close
and personal by playing in his band. Even more ironic and revealing for
me was the fact that I would be blessed with the honor and privilege to
produce seven of his recordings and to perform on several more recording
dates with him as a sideman.
John Hicks was a goodwill ambassador and a wonderfully generous and kind
person-for all of his musical achievements and majestic talent he
always carried himself with great humility and dignity as a gentleman.
He willingly shared his talent and experience and his wonderful sense of
humor with musicians, fans and everyone he touched. Being in his
presence when he played was a rare experience-an authentic musical voice
and presence that truly will never be recaptured or duplicated in the
world of jazz. Hicks’ influence was far-reaching. His innovative and
inventive spirit as a performer and composer was cosmic-like a supernova
of explosive particles of genius burst upon the vastness of the musical
constellation-that will continue to shower upon us the light of
creativity, integrity and musical fortitude. I hope that those who knew
and played with the great John Hicks will be inspired to live up to his
high standards and his extraordinary legacy of excellence-in
performance, composition and “swing personified.”
John Hicks,
a versatile jazz pianist who combined strength and refinement while
performing with many of the leading musicians of his era, died May 10 of
internal bleeding at a New York hospital. He was 64. Mr. Hicks was adept at several forms of jazz,
from standards and bebop to the avant-garde. He appeared on hundreds of
recordings as a leader or sideman and was comfortable in small groups,
in big bands or accompanying singers. Early in his career, he was a pianist for
three demanding musical leaders who helped sculpt his style and broaden
his musical experience. In 1964, soon after arriving in New York, Mr.
Hicks joined the Jazz Messengers, a hard-driving quintet led by drummer Art Blakey, a renowned judge of talent. Two years later, Mr. Hicks became the pianist for singer Betty Carter,
another leader with uncompromising tastes. Finally, from 1968 to 1970,
he held the piano chair in the big band of Woody Herman.
"He was a major, important player who was probably not as well recognized as he should have been," said Rusty Hassan, a DJ with Washington radio station WPFW who knew Mr. Hicks for more than 30 years.
Some of his finest performances came in the final years of his career, when he recorded elegant tribute albums to singer Billie Holiday and musicians Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams, Sonny Clark and Erroll Garner. "He brought musical excellence, a generous heart and great joy to everything he did," said guitarist Larry Coryell, who tapped Mr. Hicks for several record dates. "He was able to be a star in a supporting role." Like many other jazz musicians, John Josephus Hicks
Jr. received his early musical training in the church. He was born in
Atlanta and moved with his family to Los Angeles and later St. Louis.
"My father was a Methodist minister and my mom was my first piano teacher," he told the Jerusalem Post in January. "I got great experience playing piano in church. I started playing there as soon as I learned how to read music." While still in his teens, Mr. Hicks worked with blues artists Albert King and Little Milton. He attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and the Berklee School of Music in Boston before becoming the pianist for singer Della Reese.
Soon after settling in New York, Mr. Hicks, along many other musicians
of the era, fell under the captivating spell of saxophonist John Coltrane. "There's a whole generation -- maybe two --
of players who are influenced by Trane," he said in 1997. "And it's on a
spiritual level as well as musical. Trane was our Charlie Parker, and his sense of commitment to the music was awe-inspiring." In 1999, Mr. Hicks performed on a recording led by Coryell, "Monk, Trane, Miles and Me."
"The most touching moment for me was his solo
on John Coltrane's 'Naima,' " Coryell recalled this week. "It is
absolutely, unbelievably beautiful. When we finished that performance in
the studio, I broke down in tears." Three days before he died, Mr. Hicks gave his final concert at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Harlem, where his father was once the pastor. The church was also the site of his first concert in New York in 1963.
Mr. Hicks, born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1941, was the eldest of five
children. His parents, Reverend Doctor John J. Hicks and the former
Pollie Louise Bledsoe of Atlanta, both deceased, moved to Los Angeles
when Mr. Hicks was an infant. That is where Hicks received his first
piano lessons under the tutelage of his mother. When Hicks was fifteen,
the family moved to Saint Louis, Missouri in order for the Reverend
Hicks to take over the pulpit of Union Memorial Methodist Church. After
graduating high school and attending Lincoln University, the
prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, and Julliard School of
Music in New York City, Hicks relocated to New York City from St. Louis
by accepting his first road gig with Della Reese. That was over 40 years
ago. John Hicks became so firmly established among the most in-demand,
prolific jazz pianists and composers on the recording and live
appearance scenes, critics permanently affixed the adjective
“ubiquitous” to his name. As a leader or first-call sideman, playing
inside or outside the chord changes, presenting sparkling ballads or
burning up the keyboard at torrid tempos, Hicks was as versatile as he
was omnipresent. He has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher
Hall, Kennedy Center, Spivey Hall, and a host of international jazz
festivals. Mr. Hicks' varied influences include Fats Waller piano
rolls, Methodist church music, George Gershwin, Bud Powell and
Thelonious Monk. Among his musical mentors were such immortals as Lucky
Thompson, Miles Davis and Clark Terry. Hicks also played road gigs with
blues legends Little Milton and Albert King as well as other jazz greats
Al Grey, Johnny Griffin and Pharaoh Sanders before he arrived in New
York in 1963. John then worked with, among numerous others, Kenny
Dorham, Lou Donaldson and Joe Henderson before becoming a full-fledged
member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After two years with the seminal
Messengers band, John joined the Betty Carter Trio, another important
incubator for world-class beboppers. His productive stints with the
vocalist Carter propelled John's career as a recording artist into
national and international notice. Mr. Hicks had the opportunity to
perform in such places as Italy, Japan, Australia, Israel, France,
England, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Taiwan The
intervening year also saw Hicks performing live and on record with a
galaxy of jazz giants that included Sonny Rollins, Carmen McRae, Freddie
Hubbard, Frank Foster, Roy Haynes, Sonny Stitt, Jon Hendricks and James
Moody. He additionally recorded several albums for both the Theresa
(Evidence) and Disk Union with such cutting edge saxophone masters as
David Murray, Ricky Ford & Arthur Blythe. He collaborated with
fellow pianist Kenny Barron on an album on Candid. In the decade of the
90s, Hicks had further expanded his visibility and acclaim. His recorded
works have included reunion meetings with Betty Carter to a solo
concert at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley, California to a variety of
settings that have included artists Joshua Redman, Al Grey, Clark Terry,
Ron Carter, Grady Tate, Charles Tolliver, Oliver Lake, Roy Hargrove,
Gary Bartz, and Bobby Watson among others. Although his exhaustive
discography is inclusive of nearly every modern-day jazz great, his
most recent creative undertakings included memorial recordings with his
own trio: “Music in the Key of Clark” (Sonny Clark) - High Note;
“Impressions of Mary Lou” (Mary Lou Williams) - High Note; “Nightwind”
(Erroll Garner) - High Note; “John Hicks Trio and Strings with Larry
Willis and Elise Wood” - Mapleshade; “So In Love” with Richard Davis -
King Records; “Live in Taiwan” and “Beautiful Friendship” with flutist
Elise Wood - Hiwood. Of particular note as a leader is his recording
“Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook”, which features some
of Hicks' most lyrical work. The years of the past decade have
seen an increasing focus of solo work, trio work and his Quintet and
Sextet. Teaming up with a diverse array of musicians had become a Hicks
trademark. It also infused his playing with a unique characteristic: a
relaxed confidence so total that at times it belies the passion he
brings to a song. In all these realms, he has brought together
outstanding musicians all whom share with him excellence in the creation
and delivery of the universal language. Among those with whom he worked
are Curtis Lundy, David Murray, Elise Wood, David Newman, Hannibal
Peterson, Cecil Brooks III, Walter Booker, Billy Bang, Sonny Fortune,
Frank Wess, Louis Hayes, Buster Williams, George Mraz, Idris Muhammad,
Mickey Bass, Lester Bowie, and a host of luminaries in the jazz genre.
John Hicks, 64, Jazz Pianist Active on New York Scene, Is Dead
John
Hicks, a pianist who helped define the mainstream jazz aesthetic of his
instrument, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 64.
The cause was internal bleeding, said his daughter Naima Hicks.
Mr.
Hicks, a prolific mainstay of jazz in New York since the late 1960's,
gave his final performance last Sunday at a fund-raising concert at St.
Mark's United Methodist Church in Harlem. The church, which Mr. Hicks
attended, was also where his father, the Rev. Dr. John Hicks Sr., had
been a minister.
Mr.
Hicks was born in Atlanta. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was
an infant and moved again to St. Louis when he was 15, when his father
was appointed as a minister there.
John Hicks performing in Manhattan in April.Credit:
Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos
After
high school, Mr. Hicks attended Lincoln University in Missouri, the
Berklee School of Music in Boston and the Juilliard School. He was also
soon spending time on the road with various blues and jazz bandleaders,
including Albert King and Johnny Griffin. In 1963, having taken a job
with the singer Della Reese, he moved to New York City, and for the most
part he stayed there.
With
a dense, heavy, physical style, influenced by McCoy Tyner, he played in
all kinds of situations, from free jazz to programs of music written by
Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams and Sonny Clark.
Among
his dozens of jobs with working bands, Mr. Hicks had stretches with
three of the most important incubators of young jazz musicians: from
1964 to 1966 he was in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, from 1966 to 1968
with the singer Betty Carter, and from 1968 to 1970 with Woody Herman's
big band. It was after a second period with Ms. Carter in the late
1970's that Mr. Hicks's career as a leader picked up; he went on to
record many albums under his own name.
For
a highly visible time in the 1980's and 1990's, he recorded as a solo
pianist, in duos and quartets and in cooperative trios (the Power Trio
and the Keystone Trio); was the regular pianist in the Mingus Dynasty
Band; maintained his own big band; and played in small groups, including
those of David Murray and Arthur Blythe.
Beginning
in 1983, he often performed and recorded with the flutist Elise Wood,
whom he married in 2001. In addition to Ms. Wood, he is survived by his
brother, Raiford Hicks of Manhattan; his sisters Emma Hicks Kirk and
Paula Hicks Neely, both of Stockbridge, Ga.; a daughter and son from a
previous marriage, Naima Hicks of Atlanta and Jamil Hicks of Manhattan;
two stepchildren, Khadesha Wood of Teaneck, N.J., and Malik Wood of
Manhattan; and one granddaughter.
John Hicks, a bop-based pianist who was a member of Art Blakey’s
Jazz Messengers, the Woody Herman Big Band and the Betty Carter Trio
during the 1960s, in addition to performing with Freddie Hubbard, Sonny
Rollins, Etta Jones and innumerable others, died yesterday morning in
New York City after being hospitalized with internal bleeding on May 9.
He was 64. Born December 21, 1941 in Atlanta, GA, Hicks studied music at
Missouri’s Lincoln University, the Berklee College of Music and,
surprisingly, on the road as a blues sideman. The pianist, who would
later perform in post-bop and avant-garde settings during the 1970s, cut
his teeth playing 12-bar accompaniment behind blues legends Albert King
and the late “Little” Milton Campbell in 1959. After moving to New York
from St. Louis in 1963, Hicks became immersed in the jazz scene,
appearing and recording with Sonny Red, Grant Green, Johnny Griffin, Lou
Donaldson and Joe Henderson, among many others. Hicks began recording as a soloist and leader during the late 1970s,
directing small combos through sets spanning from melodic, accessible
hard-bop to challenging, fringish post-bop. A composer as well as a
performer, Hicks’ finest and most cited composition is arguably “Naima’s
Love Song” off Some Other Time (Evidence, 1981), a trio album featuring bassist Walter Booker and drummer Idris Muhammed. Hicks was indeed a triple threat, composing, performing and
educating, and he taught in varying capacities throughout his career. In
addition to more recent stints at the New School for Social Research
and New York University, Hicks taught jazz history and improvisation at
Southern Illinois University from 1972-1973. The pianist maintained a consistently active career, and over the
last 12 years released several collaborations with his wife Elise Wood
to mixed reviews (Single Petal of a Rose, Trio & Strings, Beautiful Friendship), faring better with a quintet of trio records paying tribute to Ellington and Strayhorn (Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook), Erroll Garner (Nightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook), Mary Lou Williams (Impressions of Mary Lou), Sonny Clark (Music in the Key of Clark) and Earl Hines (Fatha’s Day: An Earl Hines Songbook), respectively. His last performance took place at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
in Manhattan, where his father, the late John Hicks Sr., had served as
senior minister. The show featured the John Hicks Trio and Lori Hartman
with Ms. Wood and Aaron James. According to an e-mail distributed by www.jazzcorner.com, a jazz Web space that houses Hicks’ official site, St. Mark’s was coincidentally the
first venue the pianist played after moving to New York in 1963. Mr. Hicks is survived by Ms. Wood, whom he married in June 2001, a
son and daughter from his previous marriage, a granddaughter, a brother
and two sisters.
Check back here for updates on this story, including funeral information. Visit www.johnhicksmusic.com for a memorial photo.
Jazz pianist John Hicks,
a former St. Louis resident, has died at age 64. Although the story has
yet to hit the New York papers as of this writing, it has been reported
by Jazz Times, Playbill and the blog of Boston jazz radio station WGBH that Hicks passed away Wednesday in New York after being hospitalized on Monday with internal bleeding.
Born
in Atlanta, Hicks studied music at Lincoln University in Jefferson
City, and lived in St. Louis in the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing
blues gigs with Albert King and Little Milton as well as jazz. He moved
to New York in 1963 and over the next four decades, became a mainstay of
the jazz scene there and around the world, performing with Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers, Betty Carter, the Woody Herman Orchestra and many,
many others. Hicks also had an active solo career as a leader and
composer, and taught music at NYC's New School and, for a year in the
early 1970s, Southern Illinois University. In recent years, he recorded a
series of tribute CDs dedicated to various jazz figures including Mary
Lou Williams, Billy Strayhorn, Sonny Clark, and Earl Hines, and co-led a
band with his wife, flute player Elise Wood.
Hicks' last St.
Louis appearance was a couple of years ago, when he headlined a week at
Jazz at The Bistro. During that visit, I had the privilege of
interviewing him for a prospective magazine story that, alas, was never
published to due a combination of editorial intransigence and a
malfunctioning tape recorder. But while nothing came of the article, it
was still a real pleasure just to spend some time with Hicks, hearing
some of his stories and talking about music. From that meeting, I came
away feeling that John Hicks was a great guy as well as a wonderful
musician. My sincere condolences go out to Elise Wood and the rest of
Hicks' family and friends.
UPDATE, 12:05 a.m., 5/13/06: StLJN reader Ron Williams writes:
"Just
wanted to make a correction. You stated that John Hicks last appearance
in St. Louis was about 2 yrs ago at the Bistro. I believe his last
appearance was actually in late 2004 or early 2005 between October and
January at the Engineers Club on Lindell Blvd. He was brought to town by
Richard Henderson's organization Crusaders for Jazz. I wasn't able to
attend but I do know that the group also included drummer Ronnie
Burrage."
My thanks to Ron Williams for that
information, and I'm sure I'm not the only one now wishing he'd been
there that night, taking advantage of another chance to enjoy John
Hicks' generous spirit, good humor and superlative musicianship.
(Edited after posting to correct Hicks' age. Edited again to correct a spelling error.)
Pianist
John Hicks ranks among the unsung heroes of jazz. Hicks hasn't enjoyed
the acclaim of musicians such as McCoy Tyner (one of his key
influences), Billy Taylor or Cedar Walton, but he is a critics' favorite
whose style combines impressive technical skill with powerful swing and
a great feeling for the blues. Although Hicks--who will be at
Elario's in La Jolla tonight through Sunday--has been compared with
Tyner for his speedy right-hand and thunderous left-hand chording, his
playing has much greater dynamic diversity. He has a lighter touch
than Tyner, who makes a piano a percussive instrument in the truest
sense of the word. Hicks has a great way with a melody. In his
improvisations, the melodic line is always close at hand, but not
necessarily in a literal sense. As a solo progresses, Hicks isn't afraid
to venture into the realm of the abstract. His finest improvisations
mix the lyric sensibilities of a pianist such as Bill Evans with the
more fragmented thinking of a Cecil Taylor.
Hicks'
early history placed him in an important line of jazz pianists. His
breakthrough came when he replaced Walton as the pianist in Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers, and he later played in the bands of Betty Carter and
Woody Herman. Joining Hicks in La Jolla will be tenor saxophonist
Chico Freeman, who, like Hicks, is well-acclaimed but under-appreciated,
and flutist Elise Woods. Both are longtime associates of Hicks.
Rounding out the quintet will be San Diegans Bob Magnusson on bass and
Jim Plank on drums. Cars had big fins and women tall beehive
hairdos when the bossa nova brought America a new dance beat in the
early 1960s. Some say the event that marked this first Brazilian
invasion was the 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall featuring Antonio Carlos
Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Sergio Mendes. After
this initial U.S. exposure, keyboard player Mendes went on to conquer
America. (He and his Brazil '99 play a benefit concert for the Mexican
American Foundation at 8 p.m. Saturday at Golden Hall.) Mendes
auditioned successfully for Herb Alpert and toured with the trumpeter's
Tijuana Brass, but soon formed his own band. Alpert produced their first
album for his A&M Records. With Brazil '66, Mendes made four
gold records, capturing a large American audience by putting his
Brazilian spin on American pop tunes such as the Beatles' "The Fool on
the Hill" and by doing Brazilian numbers such as "The Girl From Ipanema"
in English. Although Brazilian music as a popular trend faded,
Mendes continued a productive career, recording several albums for
A&M and other labels before returning to the A&M fold in the
'80s. Over the years, he's played not only in his own bands but with
such American jazz masters as Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods and Hubert
Laws. On his newest album, "Arara," Mendes and Brazil '99 (the
group gets new numbers at least once a decade) depart from the
successful American/Brazilian hybrid formula that launched him in the
'60s. This time around, he trusts pure Brazilian music to speak for
itself, without American pop tunes to broaden the appeal. Songs such as
"Mas Que Nada," a remake of his first American hit, are sung in the
original Portuguese. Female vocalists have always played an
important role throughout the years in Mendes bands. Continuing this
tradition is former San Diego jazz singer Kevyn Lettau, who returns to
town for this performance. Meanwhile, rock stars such as David
Byrne of the Talking Heads and many jazz players have revived interest
in the distinctive rhythms and optimistic melodies of Brazil. A whole
new generation of Brazilian artists is basking in American popularity,
partly because these American stars have helped bring attention to the
music.
But
Brazilian artists such as Ivan Lins and Djavan owe a lot to their
predecessors, including Mendes. If you're going to buy an album such as
Byrne's newest (a compilation of his favorite Brazilian artists), you
owe it to yourself to hear one of the originals who made it possible. Denver
saxophonist Ray Iverson will be featured on KSDS-FM's (88.3) "Jazz
Live" program at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the City College Theater, C Street
between 13th and 15th downtown. San Diegans may recognize him as a
member of the Summit Ridge Jazz Band, featured several times at the
Thanksgiving weekend Dixieland Jazz Festival in Mission Valley. Iverson,
a musical associate of Denver jazz musicians Spike Robinson and Ellyn
Rucker (both of whom played San Diego during the summer), moved here
last December. Although he has played a number of private "casual" gigs
in San Diego, this is the public's first chance to hear him since his
move. Iverson, who plays mostly baritone, leans toward romantic
standards, but wants you to know that he does them up-tempo, not slow
and mushy. "We'll keep it burning," he promised. Iverson will be backed
by Bill Hunter on piano, Bob Jones on drums and Rick James on bass. If
you can't attend the live performance, you can listen to it on KSDS. RIFFS:
Trumpeter John Best and clarinetist Bobby Gordon will appear twice this
month at Diego's Loft in Pacific Beach: this Sunday and Oct. 22 from 2
to 5 p.m. . . . British guitarists Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael appear
with their band Acoustic Alchemy at the Bacchanal this Saturday for
shows at 7 and 10:30 p.m.
THE
MUSIC OF JOHN HICKS: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF
RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS
WITH JOHN HICKS:
John Josephus Hicks, Jr. (December 21, 1941 – May 10, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was leader for more than 30 recordings and played as a sideman on more than 300.[1] After early experiences backing blues musicians, Hicks moved to New York in 1963. He was part of Art Blakey's band for two years, then backed vocalist Betty Carter from 1965 to 1967, before joining Woody Herman's big band, where he stayed until 1970. Following these largely mainstream jazz experiences, Hicks expanded into freer bands, including those of trumpeters Charles Tolliver and Lester Bowie.
He rejoined Carter in 1975; the five-year stay brought him more
attention and helped to launch his recording career as a leader. He
continued to play and record extensively in the United States and
internationally. Under his own leadership, his recordings were mostly bebop-influenced,
while those for other leaders continued to be in a diversity of styles,
including multi-year associations with saxophonists Arthur Blythe, David Murray, David "Fathead" Newman, and Pharoah Sanders.
Early life
Hicks was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 21, 1941,[2] the oldest of five children.[3] As a child, he moved with his family around the United States, as his father, Rev John Hicks Sr, took up jobs with the Methodist church.[2]
His family was middle class; "I was brought up as a decent human being,
where you had aspirations and there were expectations", he commented.[2] He began playing the piano aged six or seven in Los Angeles.[2][4] His mother, Pollie,[1] was his first piano teacher.[5] He also took organ lessons, sang in choirs and tried the violin and trombone.[2] He began playing the piano in church once he could read music, around the age of 11.[6] His development accelerated once his family moved to St. Louis, when Hicks was 14 and he settled on the piano.[2] In St. Louis, he attended Sumner High School.[7] While there, he played in schoolmate Lester Bowie's band, the Continentals.[8] Hicks cited influences "from Fats Waller to Thelonious Monk to Methodist church hymns",[5] as well as local pianists.[2] He was initially interested in the blues-based compositions of Horace Silver and popular songs such as "I Got Rhythm" and "There Will Never Be Another You", for their easily recognised harmonies.[9] Hicks had summer gigs in the southern United States with blues musicians Little Milton and Albert King.[2]
His stint with Little Milton provided his first professional work, in
1958; Hicks stated that his playing in a variety of keys improved
because the venue's piano was so out of tune that he had to transpose each piece that they played.[4] Hicks studied music in 1958 at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania,[2][7] where he shared a room with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson.[10] He also studied for a short time at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to New York in 1963.[2]
Later life and career
1963–80
In New York, Hicks first accompanied singer Della Reese.[11] He then played with Joe Farrell and toured with trombonist Al Grey and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell.[2] In 1963 he was also part of saxophonist Pharoah Sanders' first band,[12] and appeared on CBC Television backing vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon.[13] After periods with Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson, Hicks joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1964.[5] His recording debut was with Blakey in November that year, for the album 'S Make It.[14][15] Early in 1965, Hicks toured with Blakey to Japan, France, Switzerland, and England.[4][15] Blakey encouraged his band members, including Hicks, to compose for the band,[16] although they also played compositions by previous members of the band.[17] He stayed with Blakey for two years,[2] during which time his playing was compared with that of McCoy Tyner, for the level of energy displayed and for some of the intervals that they used.[18]
In the period 1965 to 1967 Hicks worked on and off with vocalist Betty Carter;[19] her liking for slow ballads helped him develop his sense of time.[16] He then joined Woody Herman's big band, where he stayed until 1970,[5][20] playing as well as writing arrangements for the band.[2] Hicks "also recorded with Booker Ervin and Sonny Simmons (both 1966), Hank Mobley (1967), and Lee Morgan (1968)".[4] From 1972 to 1973 Hicks taught jazz history and improvisation at Southern Illinois University.[21] From the 1970s he also played in more avant garde bands.[22] "He recorded with Oliver Lake (1970) and performed and recorded in the Netherlands with Charles Tolliver (1972)."[4] He played with Blakey again in 1973.[2] Hicks' debut recording as leader was on May 21, 1975, in England.[23] The session resulted in two albums – the trio Hells Bells, with bassist Clint Houston and drummer Cliff Barbaro, and the piano solo Steadfast.[23] They were released by Strata-East Records, but not for several years: Hells Bells emerged in 1978[24] or 1980.[25] Hicks reunited with Carter in 1975, including accompanying her in a musical play, Don't Call Me Man, that year.[26] After recording with Carter on her Now It's My Turn in 1976, Hicks returned to her band full-time; this raised his profile and led to his own recording – After the Morning.[5] His recording continued, including with "Lester Bowie (1974), Carter Jefferson (1978), and Chico Freeman (1978–79)."[4] Hicks was dismissed in 1980 by Carter, a forceful bandleader, for drinking.[27]
1981–89
Some Other Time in 1981, with bassist Walter Booker and drummer Idris Muhammad, revealed more of Hicks as a composer, and included his best-known song, "Naima's Love Song".[5] "Hicks led bands from the mid-1970s. His small groups included a quartet of Sonny Fortune, Walter Booker, and Jimmy Cobb (1975–82, from 1990); a trio, without Fortune (from 1981); a quartet or trio, with the flutist Elise Wood added or replacing the drummer; another quartet, with the addition of Gary Bartz; a different trio with Curtis Lundy or Ray Drummond on double bass and Idris Muhammad on drums; quartets involving various of these musicians, as well as Watson, Blythe, Murray, Herring, or Craig Handy, and with Victor Lewis added to the pool of drummers; quintets and sextets whose members have also involved Robin Eubanks and Tolliver (both from 1982), Branford Marsalis (1982–4), Hannibal Peterson (from 1983), Wynton Marsalis (1983–4), Craig Harris (1985–6), Eddie Henderson (1985–6, 1988–90), and Freeman (1985–8); and a big band (formed in autumn 1982 and revived on occasion into the late 1990s)".[4] He played in the UK with Freeman's band in 1989.[28] From 1983, the flautist Elise Wood was frequently a member of his groups.[5] As a duo, they played mostly jazz, but also some classical music.[29] They formed a business partnership – John Hicks-Elise Wood, Inc. – and toured the US, Europe and Japan in the 1980s.[30] From the early 1980s until his death he performed solo and led
his own groups, including the Keystone Trio, with Idris Muhammad and George Mraz. He also freelanced, including with more contemporary players such as Arthur Blythe, David Murray, and Pharoah Sanders.[2] "During the 1980s Hicks played as a sideman in numerous groups, including those led by Richie Cole (1980), Arthur Blythe (In the Tradition), David Murray, Hamiet Bluiett, Art Davis, and Pharoah Sanders; he recorded with these musicians, as well as with Ricky Ford (1980, 1982), Alvin Queen (1981), Peter Leitch (1984), Vincent Herring (1986), and Bobby Watson (1986, 1988)".[4] In 1984 he had a big band that rehearsed; a sextet from it played concerts.[31] From around 1989 into the 1990s he played with the Mingus Dynasty band, including for performances of the symphony Epitaph.[4] He recorded two albums in Japan in 1988 – the trio East Side Blues and the quartet Naima's Love Song, with altoist Bobby Watson added.[32][33] He became "a fixture at international music festivals"[20] as well as continuing to play in New York.[34]
1990–2006
Hicks divorced his wife, Olympia, in the early 1990s.[2] The couple had a son and daughter (Jamil Malik and Naima).[3] "Like so many straight-ahead jazz artists, John Hicks did his
share of label-hopping in the '90s. Instead of recording for one company
consistently, he would offer different projects to different labels."[35] He continued to record in the 1990s, including "in duos with Drummond (1989), Jay McShann (1992), and Leitch (1994); as a leader; in cooperative sessions with Kenny Barron (1989), Cecil McBee and Elvin Jones (as the Power Trio, 1990), with George Mraz and Muhammad (as the Keystone Trio, from 1995), and with Eric Alexander, Mraz, and Muhammad (1998); and further as a sideman with Murray, Leitch, Blythe, and Freeman, as well as with Roy Hargrove (1989–90, 1995), Bartz (1990), Lake (1991), Steve Marcus and Valery Ponomarev (both 1993), Nick Brignola, Russell Gunn, and Kevin Mahogany (all 1994), the Mingus Big Band (c1995), Fortune (1996), and Jimmy Ponder (1997)."[4] As leader, his choice of material in the 1990s was often of commonly played standards.[36] He played in the UK with the Mingus Big Band in 1999,[37] and played on their album Blues and Politics from the same year.[38] His most commercially successful recordings were tributes to other musicians, including Something to Live For (1998), Impressions of Mary Lou (2000), and Fatha's Day (2003).[5] There were five such albums, all linked to Pittsburgh-associated pianist-composers; the other two were Nightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook, and Music in the Key of Clark.[39][40] Hicks played and recorded with jazz artists such as Joe Lovano and David "Fathead" Newman. He played on five of Newman's albums for HighNote Records.[41] He was described in 2000 as the "HighNote house pianist".[42] The pianist recorded the seventh instalment of the "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" series of solo concerts, which were recorded for Concord Records. He was part of Lovano's quartet in 1998,[43] which led to Hicks being part of the saxophonist's nonet from its formation the following year.[44] Hicks and Wood married in 2001.[5] He made a rare recording on organ (Hammond B3) on saxophonist Arthur Blythe's Exhale.[45][46] "over the last 12 years [of his life, he] released several collaborations with his wife Elise Wood to mixed reviews (Single Petal of a Rose, Trio & Strings, Beautiful Friendship)".[39] Towards the end of his life, Hicks taught at New York University and The New School in New York.[20]
Asked about his teaching, Hicks replied that "I don't care how advanced
my students are, I always start them off with the blues. It all comes
from there."[6] Early in 2006 Hicks again played in a big band, this time led by Charles Tolliver.[47] In January and February, he toured Israel, chiefly playing Thelonious Monk compositions.[6] Hicks' final studio recording was On the Wings of an Eagle in March 2006.[48] His last performance was at St Mark's United Methodist Church in New York City a few days before he died.[2] He died on May 10, 2006, from internal bleeding.[3] Wood survived him, and has led groups dedicated to his music.[49]
In the view of AllMusic reviewer Michael G. Nastos, "Hicks died before
reaping the ultimate rewards and high praise he deserved".[50] A collection of his papers and compositions, as well as video and audio recordings, is held by Duke University.[51]
Playing style
Hicks
had a style of his own, containing a "combination of irresistible
creativity and responsiveness [...] encompassing swing, hard bop and the
avant garde, and made him a first-call choice for many of the most
important American modern jazz groups".[2] "Hicks had his critics, some of whom condemn him for insubstantiality."[52]The Penguin Guide to Jazz
commented that "This [...] is missing the point. Almost always, he is
more concerned to work within the dimensions of a song than to go off
into the stratosphere."[52] A reviewer of a 1993 release, Lover Man: A Tribute to Billie Holiday, commented that Hicks "mastered the technique of shaping a piano chord so it sounds like the rising and falling of a breath".[53] Fellow pianist George Cables stated that Hicks "was a very strong and energetic player, and a very warm player, very much part of the tradition".[18]
His "left hand carries subtle dynamic shadings [... He has] a reverence
for melody and a sense of musical destination that gives form to his
improvisations."[54] As an accompanist, Hicks played delicately, with carefully voiced chords.[55]
Compositions and arrangements
His compositions "are wandering and melodic, suggestive and malleable yet memorable".[56]
He "enjoyed writing arrangements for a quintet or sextet, often, like
the finest jazz composers, tailoring parts to specific musicians. In the
past, these have included artists of the caliber of Bobby Watson and
Vincent Herring; more recently he has been working with Javon Jackson
and Elise [Wood]".[57]
Vacher, Peter (May 12, 2006) "John Hicks". The Guardian.
Scott, Ron (May 18, 2006) "Pianist John Hicks Dies at 64". New York Amsterdam News p. 27.
Yanow, Scott; Kernfeld, Barry "Hicks, John".
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.. Grove Music Online. Oxford
Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
(Subscription required.)
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
![After the Morning [1992]](https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0002/515/MI0002515810.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
John Hicks 
