Billy Higgins

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For other people named Billy Higgins, see Billy Higgins (disambiguation).
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins in 1978.
Billy Higgins in 1978.
Background information
Born(1936-10-11)October 11, 1936
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 2001(2001-05-03) (aged 64)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, educator
InstrumentsDrums
Associated actsOrnette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Cedar Walton, Charles Lloyd, Pat Metheny

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, 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.[4]

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.

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

  • Live at the Hilcrest Club 1958 (Inner City, 1958 [1976])
  • Coleman Classics Volume 1 (Improvising Artists, 1958 [1977])

With Sandy Bull

  • Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo (Vanguard, 1963)
  • Inventions (Vanguard, 1965)

With Jaki Byard

  • On the Spot! (Prestige, 1967)

With Donald Byrd

  • Royal Flush (Blue Note, 1961)
  • Free Form (Blue Note, 1962)
  • Blackjack (Blue Note, 1967)
  • Slow Drag (Blue Note, 1967)

With Joe Castro

With Don Cherry

  • Brown Rice (EMI, 1975)
  • Art Deco (A&M, 1988)

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)
  • In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams, 1987)

With John Coltrane

  • Like Sonny (Roulette, 1960)

With Junior Cook

With Bill Cosby

  • Hello, Friend: To Ennis With Love (Verve, 1997)

With Stanley Cowell

  • Regeneration (Strata East, 1976)

With Ray Drummond

  • The Essence (DMP, 1985)

With Teddy Edwards

With Booker Ervin

With Art Farmer

With Curtis Fuller

With Stan Getz

  • Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet (1958, Fantasy) with Cal Tjader

With Dexter Gordon

  • Go (Blue Note, 1962)
  • A Swingin' Affair (Blue Note, 1962)
  • Clubhouse (Blue Note, 1965 – released 1979)
  • Gettin' Around (Blue Note, 1965)
  • Tangerine (Prestige, 1972 [1975])
  • Generation (Prestige, 1972)
  • Something Different (SteepleChase, 1975 [1980])
  • Bouncin' with Dex (SteepleChase, 1976)
  • The Other Side of Round Midnight (Blue Note, 1985)

With Grant Green

With Dodo Greene

  • My Hour of Need (Blue Note, 1962)

With Charlie Haden

  • Quartet West (Verve, 1986)
  • Silence (Soul Note, 1987)
  • The Private Collection (Naim, 1987-88 [2000])
  • First Song (Soul Note, 1990 [1992])

With Slide Hampton

  • Roots (Criss Cross, 1985)

With Herbie Hancock

  • Takin' Off (Blue Note, 1962)
  • Round Midnight (soundtrack) (Columbia, 1985)

With Barry Harris

With Eddie Harris

With Johnny Hartman

With Jimmy Heath

With Joe Henderson

  • Mirror Mirror (MPS, 1980)

With Andrew Hill

  • Dance with Death (Blue Note, 1968 – not released until 1980)

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Paul Horn

With Toninho Horta

With Freddie Hubbard

With Bobby Hutcherson

With J. J. Johnson

  • Pinnacles (Milestone, 1980)

With Hank Jones and Dave Holland

  • The Oracle (EmArcy, 1990)

With Sam Jones

With Clifford Jordan

With Fred Katz

With Steve Lacy

  • Evidence (New Jazz, 1962) with Don Cherry

With Charles Lloyd

  • Acoustic Masters I (Atlantic, 1993)
  • Voice in the Night (ECM, 1999)
  • The Water Is Wide (ECM, 2000)
  • Hyperion with Higgins (ECM, 2001, released posthumously)
  • Which Way Is East (ECM, 2004, released posthumously)

With Pat Martino

  • The Visit! (Cobblestone, 1972) also released as Footprints

With Jackie McLean

  • A Fickle Sonance (Blue Note, 1961)
  • Let Freedom Ring Blue Note, 1962)
  • Vertigo (Blue Note, 1962-63)
  • Action Action Action (Blue Note, 1964)
  • Consequence (Blue Note, 1965 [2005])
  • New and Old Gospel (Blue Note, 1967)

With Charles McPherson

  • The Quintet/Live! (Prestige, 1966)
  • Horizons (Prestige, 1968)
  • Today's Man (Mainstream, 1973)

With Pat Metheny

  • Rejoicing (ECM, 1983)

With Blue Mitchell

With Red Mitchell

  • Presenting Red Mitchell (Contemporary, 1957)

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

  • Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk (Riverside, 1960)

With Buddy Montgomery

  • Ties of Love (Landmark, 1987)
With Tete Montoliu

With Frank Morgan

  • Easy Living (Contemporary, 1985)
  • Lament (Contemporary, 1986)
  • Bebop Lives! (Contemporary, 1987)
  • Love, Lost & Found (Telarc, 1995)

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

  • Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1 (Black Saint, 1984)
  • Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2 (Black Saint, 1984)

With Horace Parlan

With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

With Art Pepper

With Dave Pike

With Jimmy Raney

  • The Influence (Xanadu, 1975)

With Sonny Red

With Freddie Redd

With Joshua Redman

  • Wish (1993)

With Red Rodney

With Sonny Rollins

  • Our Man in Jazz (RCA Victor, 1965)
  • There Will Never Be Another You (recorded 1965 released 1978)

With Charlie Rouse

  • Bossa Nova Bacchanal (Blue Note, 1965)
With Hilton Ruiz

With Pharoah Sanders

  • Rejoice (Theresa, 1981)

With Rob Schneiderman

With John Scofield

  • Works for Me (Verve, 2001)

With Shirley Scott

With Archie Shepp

  • Attica Blues (Impulse!, 1972)

With Sonny Simmons

With James Spaulding

  • James Spaulding Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington (Storyville, 1977)

With Robert Stewart

  • (World Stage, 1994 / Red Records, 1997)
  • (Exodus, 2002)

With Sonny Stitt

With Idrees Sulieman

With Ira Sullivan

With Sun Ra

  • Somewhere Else (Rounder, 1988–89)
  • Blue Delight (A&M, 1989)

With Cecil Taylor

With Lucky Thompson

With the Timeless All Stars

With Bobby Timmons

  • Soul Food (Prestige, 1966)
  • Got to Get It! (Milestone, 1967)

With Stanley Turrentine

  • More Than a Mood (MusicMasters, 1992)

With Mal Waldron

With Cedar Walton

With Don Wilkerson

With David Williams

With Jack Wilson

  • Easterly Winds (Blue Note, 1967)

References[]

  1. ^ "Billy Higgins | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. ^ James Nadal (ed.). "Billy Higgins". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Ratliff, Ben (2001-05-04). "Billy Higgins, 64, Jazz Drummer With Melodic and Subtle Swing". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-16.

External links[]

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