Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer… Read Full Bio ↴Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
He played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958. Higgins played on such important Coleman albums as Something Else!!!!:The Music of Ornette Coleman (1958), The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959), Free Jazz (1960) and Science Fiction (1971). In 1961 a drug bust stripped Higgins of his cabaret card, prompting him to exit from Coleman's band. He focused on studio work, becoming the unofficial house drummer at Blue Note Records and working 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 played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk.
After being featured in filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier's 1986 jazz film 'Round Midnight with Dexter Gordon, Higgins then reunited with Ornette Coleman's classic band, which featured Don Cherry on trumpet and Charlie Haden on upright bass, resulting in a new studio album for Coleman. The following year Higgins teamed with poet Kamau Daaood to found World Stage, a cultural center in Los Angeles which hosted creative workshops, community activities, and live performances. He regularly used his extensive professional network to lure many of the biggest names in jazz to the World Stage site both as performers and as tutors, and ultimately Higgins turned his attention to teaching in a formal setting as well, serving on the jazz faculty at UCLA.
Higgins spent much of the remainder of his life battling liver disease, a manifestation of a hepatitis contraction from decades earlier in his life. In March 1996, he underwent a liver transplant and when his body rejected the new organ, he was forced to submit to a second procedure just 24 hours later. Higgins nevertheless returned to music a few months later, traveling to New York to renew his collaboration with Coleman. However, by 2001 his new liver began to fail, and while waiting to find a donor, he succumbed to pneumonia on May 3. Higgins was just 64 years old at the time of his death.
Higgins was divorced from wife, Mauricina Altier; and had four sons: William, Joseph, and David, and a step-son Jody.
He also has a son, Benjamin.
He played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958. Higgins played on such important Coleman albums as Something Else!!!!:The Music of Ornette Coleman (1958), The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959), Free Jazz (1960) and Science Fiction (1971). In 1961 a drug bust stripped Higgins of his cabaret card, prompting him to exit from Coleman's band. He focused on studio work, becoming the unofficial house drummer at Blue Note Records and working 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 played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk.
After being featured in filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier's 1986 jazz film 'Round Midnight with Dexter Gordon, Higgins then reunited with Ornette Coleman's classic band, which featured Don Cherry on trumpet and Charlie Haden on upright bass, resulting in a new studio album for Coleman. The following year Higgins teamed with poet Kamau Daaood to found World Stage, a cultural center in Los Angeles which hosted creative workshops, community activities, and live performances. He regularly used his extensive professional network to lure many of the biggest names in jazz to the World Stage site both as performers and as tutors, and ultimately Higgins turned his attention to teaching in a formal setting as well, serving on the jazz faculty at UCLA.
Higgins spent much of the remainder of his life battling liver disease, a manifestation of a hepatitis contraction from decades earlier in his life. In March 1996, he underwent a liver transplant and when his body rejected the new organ, he was forced to submit to a second procedure just 24 hours later. Higgins nevertheless returned to music a few months later, traveling to New York to renew his collaboration with Coleman. However, by 2001 his new liver began to fail, and while waiting to find a donor, he succumbed to pneumonia on May 3. Higgins was just 64 years old at the time of his death.
Higgins was divorced from wife, Mauricina Altier; and had four sons: William, Joseph, and David, and a step-son Jody.
He also has a son, Benjamin.
Etudes
Billy Higgins Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Billy Higgins:
If You Could See Me Now If you could see me now, you'd know how blue…
My Funny Valentine Your my funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine, You make me…
My Ship My ship has sails that are made of silk, The decks…
Someday My Prince Will Come Somewhere waiting for me There is someone I'm longing to se…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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diegodobini2
H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲ ̲&̲ ̲D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲&̲ ̲B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲ ̲–̲ ̲T̲h̲e̲ ̲O̲r̲a̲c̲l̲e̲ ̲(̲1̲9̲8̲9̲)̲
Format:CD, Album
Genre:Jazz
Style:Bop
Tracklist:
1 I̲n̲t̲e̲r̲f̲a̲c̲e̲ 0:00:02
2 ̲B̲e̲a̲u̲t̲i̲f̲u̲l̲ ̲L̲o̲v̲e̲ 0:06:44
3 ̲T̲h̲e̲ ̲O̲r̲a̲c̲l̲e̲ 0:13:30
4 ̲B̲l̲u̲e̲s̲ ̲F̲o̲r̲ ̲C̲M̲ 0:20:18
5 ̲Y̲e̲s̲t̲e̲r̲d̲a̲y̲s̲ 0:27:42
6 ̲B̲l̲o̲o̲d̲ ̲C̲o̲u̲n̲t̲ 0:34:08
7 ̲M̲a̲y̲a̲'̲s̲ ̲D̲a̲n̲c̲e̲ 0:42:46
8 ̲J̲a̲c̲o̲b̲'̲s̲ ̲L̲a̲d̲d̲e̲r̲ 0:48:40
9 ̲T̲r̲a̲n̲e̲ ̲C̲o̲n̲n̲e̲c̲t̲i̲o̲n̲s̲ 0:56:11
Credits:
Bass – D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲
Design – Harold Wortsman
Drums – B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲
Engineer [Assistant] – Ue Nastasoi
Engineer, Recorded By, Mixed By – James Farber
Executive-Producer – John Ellson
Liner Notes – Kenny Mathieson
Mastered By – Greg Calbi
Painting – Nathan Oliveira
Photography By – Bruno Hübschmidt
Piano – H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲
Producer – Lee Townsend
Notes:
Recorded and mixed in March/April 1989 in New York City.
The Oracle Review by S̲c̲o̲t̲t̲ ̲Y̲a̲n̲o̲w̲
One could excuse H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲ if, at the time of The Oracle, the 70-year-old pianist chose to stick to revivalist bop, but the biggest surprise of this very democratic date is how modern he plays. Jones is Monkish on "Blues for CM" and often sounds more like a contemporary of McCoy Tyner than of Bud Powell, whom Hank was actually born six years before. Bassist D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲ has nearly as much solo space as Jones (along with contributing three compositions), and drummer B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲ gets more space than usual. If there is any fault to this otherwise flawless CD (which also has some underplayed standards such as "Beautiful Love" and "Yesterdays"), it is that there are no individual features. But the interplay between the three musicians is quite impressive
Henri de Lagardère
Hank Jones has left us dozens of trio albums, and any selection from them will be a worthwhile exploration of well- and lesser-known standards, inspired originals and variations on the blues, and then there are some that stand out from among these high-quality productions, records like this one, quasi a must-have. Interface immediately connects us to the modal mood and a very eloquent bass solo by Dave Holland, who is, naturally, featured on the Blues for Charles Mingus, by the way, years later Dave dedicated his first quintet album on ECM, another highly recommended album, to the volatile jazz giant. The music of the Hank Jones Trio at its best is characterized by a suspense, an adventurous sense of things looming, exciting discoveries behind the corner, the first bars of Jerome Kern's Yesterdays leading into the three gentlemen swinging together so closely and effortlessly, is a good example of the Jonesian style. These arrangements often remind me of a film noir setting, but not one where the protagonists are doomed individuals but kindred souls trying to connect, and succeeding at that. And that's exactly what this magnificent album is about: Connections. Not only to John Coltrane and Jimmy Heath, and Charles Mingus, but also to Billy Strayhorn (#6), Bill Evans (#2), Ray Drummond (#7) or John Lewis and the MJQ, whose sonic concept is echoed by the trio in #5. A good Jones album is always worth your time and money, but an excellent one is an education, on more than one level.
bluetrane64
Henri, excellent observation. I love this album and find myself returning to it since discovering it a few years ago. Always something new revealed during repeated listens. Take care!
Andrès de la fuente
yes!. excellent data! thank you. cheers!
Leslie Hayton
Always a gold star recording henri , and nice to remember !
3340steve
Merci beaucoup Henri !!
Andrès de la fuente
beautiful trío!! a jewell! thank you! cheers!
diegodobini2
2
Cd notes:
The Oracle H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲ D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲ B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲
The trio is more than simply three great musicians; between them H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲ (b. Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1918), D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲ (b. Wolverhampton, England, 1946), and B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲ (b. Los Angeles, California, 1936) span not only two continents, but the entire history of modern jazz.
H̲a̲n̲k̲ ̲J̲o̲n̲e̲s̲, one third of a famous jazz family which also boasts drummer Elvin and the late trumpeter Thad, emerged on the New York jazz scene in 1944, just as the ferment of bebop was about to turn jazz on its head. The pianist took wholeheartedly to the new style, including historic recordings with Charlie Parker which would ensure him im-mortality on their own, but his range and sensitivity enabled him to work with equal distinction as accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald, and in sessions with giants of an earlier era like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. Throughout his subsequent career, Jones has developed his basic bop style to move with the times, notably in the Great Jazz Trio, formed in 1916 with Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and later with Eddie Gomez and Al Foster. The present group maintains that standard, and adds a further dimension of their own.
D̲a̲v̲e̲ ̲H̲o̲l̲l̲a̲n̲d̲, one of the small elite of contemporary acoustic bass players, had barely established himself as a formidable presence on the English jazz scene when he was recruited by no less a personage than Miles Davis, just as the trumpeter was launching into his late sixties fusion phase. It pitched Holland into the international jazz scene,
and he has never looked back. Whether leading his own highly regarded groups, or playing with musicians as diverse as Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and Anthony Braxton, Holland is a genuine master, astonishingly facile, utterly precise, and with a beautifully rounded tone which very few can match.
B̲i̲l̲l̲y̲ ̲H̲i̲g̲g̲i̲n̲s̲ has no less spectacular a command of modern jazz drumming, and formed an integral part of one of the most important groups in the onward march of the music, the Ornette Coleman Quartet of the late 1950's and early 1960's, where his latent power and rhythmic flexibility proved a perfect foil for Coleman's experiments in what became known, rather inaccurately, as Free Jazz. Like Jones, however, Higgins seems infinitely adaptable, and his lengthy list of recording credits is something of a Who's Who of modern jazz.
Three great players, however, do not always make a great group in this music. Sometimes the chemistry works, the chain-reaction occurs; other times, the parts refuse to meet in a genuine whole—everybody performs their allotted role, but the ultimate and slightly mysterious fusion which finally makes a memorable unit remains elusive.
The fusion occurred early for The Trio, and this is the evidence.
There is not a weak cut on this collection. Throughout, the ensembles are crisp and
precise, with each player finding exactly the right balance within the music. The soloing is as inspirational and inventive as would be expected in this company. Whether on originals like Jones' bustling, boppish Interface or Holland's valedictory tribute to the late Charles Mingus, Blues for CM; on standards like the tingling, up-tempo version of Yesterdays, or their distinctive interpretations of Billy Strayhorn's enigmatic ballad Blood Count or Jimmy Heath's sparkling Trane Connections; this is music-making of a very high order.
All three players have been innovators in their time, but this recording captures The Trio paying their respects to the jazz tradition, and doing so with the authentic and unmistakable stamp of those who understand it deep-down, from the inside.
The comments of British music critic Kenny Mathieson
Carlos Boffa
TKS yt,leave me here🎉😊