Billy Higgins
American jazz drummer (1936–2001)
Billy Higgins
Higgins in 1978.
Born (1936-10-11 ) October 11, 1936Los Angeles , California , U.S.Died May 3, 2001(2001-05-03) (aged 64)Inglewood , California, U.S. Genres Jazz Occupation(s) Musician, educator Instrument Drums Formerly of Ornette Coleman , Herbie Hancock , Cedar Walton , Charles Lloyd , Pat Metheny
Musical artist
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer . He played mainly free jazz and hard bop .[ 1]
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles , California , United States.[ 2] Higgins played on Ornette Coleman 's first records, beginning in 1958.[ 3] He then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Donald Byrd , Dexter Gordon , Grant Green , Herbie Hancock , Joe Henderson , Don Cherry , Paul Horn , Milt Jackson , Jackie McLean , Pat Metheny , Hank Mobley , Thelonious Monk , Lee Morgan , David Murray , Art Pepper , Sonny Rollins , Mal Waldron , and Cedar Walton .[ 3] He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 1960s.[ 3] He also collaborated with composer La Monte Young and guitarist Sandy Bull .
In his career, Higgins played on more than 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 .[ 4]
Billy Higgins died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001, at a hospital in Inglewood , California.[ 4]
Discography
As leader
As a sideman
With Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt
With Chris Anderson
With Gary Bartz
With Paul Bley
With Sandy Bull
With Jaki Byard
With Donald Byrd
With Joe Castro
With Don Cherry
With Sonny Clark
With George Coleman
With Ornette Coleman
Something Else!!!! (Contemporary, 1958)
The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic, 1959)
Change of the Century (Atlantic, 1959)
The Art of the Improvisers (Atlantic, 1959)
To Whom Who Keeps a Record (Warner, 1959–60)
Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (Atlantic, 1961)
Twins (Atlantic, 1961)
Science Fiction (Columbia, 1971)
Broken Shadows (Columbia, 1971–1972 [1982])
The Complete Science Fiction Sessions (Columbia, 1971–1972 [2000])
In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams, 1987)
With John Coltrane
With Junior Cook
With Bill Cosby
Hello, Friend: To Ennis with Love (Verve, 1997)
With Stanley Cowell
With Ray Drummond
With Teddy Edwards
With Booker Ervin
With Art Farmer
With Curtis Fuller
With Stan Getz
With Dexter Gordon
With Grant Green
With Dodo Greene
With Charlie Haden
With Slide Hampton
Roots (Criss Cross, 1985)
With Herbie Hancock
With Barry Harris
With Johnny Hartman
With Jimmy Heath
With Joe Henderson
With Andrew Hill
With Christopher Hollyday
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
With Paul Horn
With Toninho Horta
With Freddie Hubbard
With Bobby Hutcherson
With J. J. Johnson
With Hank Jones and Dave Holland
With Sam Jones
With Clifford Jordan
With Fred Katz
With Steve Lacy
With Charles Lloyd
With Pat Martino
The Visit! (Cobblestone, 1972) also released as Footprints
With Jackie McLean
With Charles McPherson
With Pat Metheny
With Blue Mitchell
With Red Mitchell
With Hank Mobley
The Turnaround (Blue Note, 1965)
Dippin' (Blue Note, 1965)
A Caddy for Daddy (Blue Note, 1965)
A Slice of the Top (Blue Note, 1966 [1979])
Hi Voltage (Blue Note, 1967)
Third Season (Blue Note, 1967)
Far Away Lands (Blue Note, 1967)
Reach Out! (Blue Note, 1968)
Breakthrough! (Muse, 1972) with Cedar Walton
Straight No Filter (Blue Note, 1964-66 [1980])
With Thelonious Monk
With Buddy Montgomery
With Tete Montoliu
With Frank Morgan
With Lee Morgan
The Sidewinder (Blue Note, 1963)
Search for the New Land (Blue Note, 1964)
The Rumproller (Blue Note, 1965)
The Gigolo (Blue Note, 1965)
Cornbread (Blue Note, 1965)
Infinity (Blue Note, 1965 [1980])
Delightfulee (Blue Note, 1966)
Charisma (Blue Note, 1966)
The Rajah (Blue Note, 1966 [1984])
Sonic Boom (Blue Note, 1967 [1979])
The Sixth Sense (Blue Note, 1967–68)
The Procrastinator (Blue Note, 1967 [1978])
Taru (Blue Note, 1968 [1980])
Caramba! (Blue Note, 1968)
With Bheki Mseleku
Star Seeding (Polygram Records, 1995)
With David Murray
With Horace Parlan
With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
With Art Pepper
With Dave Pike
With Jimmy Raney
With Sonny Red
With Freddie Redd
With Joshua Redman
With Red Rodney
With Sonny Rollins
With Charlie Rouse
With Hilton Ruiz
With Pharoah Sanders
With Rob Schneiderman
With John Scofield
With Shirley Scott
With Archie Shepp
With Sonny Simmons
With James Spaulding
With Robert Stewart
With Sonny Stitt
With Idrees Sulieman
With Ira Sullivan
With Sun Ra
With Cecil Taylor
With Lucky Thompson
With the Timeless All Stars
With Bobby Timmons
With Charles Tolliver
With Stanley Turrentine
With Mal Waldron
With Cedar Walton
Cedar! (Prestige, 1967)
Eastern Rebellion (Timeless, 1976) with George Coleman & Sam Jones
The Pentagon (East Wind, 1976)
Eastern Rebellion 2 (Timeless, 1977) with Bob Berg & Sam Jones
First Set (SteepleChase, 1977 [1978])
Second Set (SteepleChase, 1977 [1979])
Third Set (SteepleChase, 1977 [1982])
Eastern Rebellion 3 (Timeless, 1980) with Curtis Fuller , Bob Berg & Sam Jones
The Maestro (Muse, 1981)
Among Friends (Theresa, 1982 [1989])
Eastern Rebellion 4 (Timeless, 1984) with Curtis Fuller, Bob Berg, Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros & David Williams
Cedar's Blues (Red, 1985)
The Trio 1 (Red, 1985)
The Trio 2 (Red, 1985)
The Trio 3 (Red, 1985)
Cedar Walton (Timeless, 1985)
Bluesville Time (Criss Cross Jazz, 1985)
Cedar Walton Plays (Delos, 1986)
As Long as There's Music (Muse, 1990 [1993])
Mosaic (Music Masters, 1990 [1992]) as Eastern Rebellion
Simple Pleasure (Music Masters, 1993) as Eastern Rebellion
Manhattan Afternoon (Criss Cross Jazz, 1992 [1994])
Just One of Those Nights: At the Village Vanguard (Music Masters, 1995) as Eastern Rebellion
With Don Wilkerson
With David Williams
With Jack Wilson
References
External links
International National Academics Artists Other