Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

HICKS, John

(b 21 December 1941, Atlanta GA; d 10 May 2006, NYC) Piano; a first-rate jazz musician in any context and also a very good accompanist. He grew up in St Louis; his father was a clergyman and he was encouraged by his parents; Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Erroll Garner came to their church. He studied classical piano in high school (Tina Turner, Oliver Lake, Lester Bowie and Phillip Wilson were classmates); attended university, went to Berklee in Boston, then Juilliard in New York. He worked in Canada with vocal group the Double Six of Paris, with Art Blakey '64-6, Betty Carter '66-8, Dionne Warwick briefly, Woody Herman for two years, back with Blakey '73, back with Carter '76-9 (including album The Audience). He also toured Europe with Charles Tolliver, recorded with Lake, Bowie, Chico Freeman '78-9; later Arthur Blythe and others who also played on his albums (see below). Inspired by good teachers, he became one, teaching youngsters all over the country: he admired Christian McBride and Benny Green because as good as they were they were still willing to learn. At home with a wide variety of collaborators, he was an effective sideman on countless records.
   
Hicks's own albums were mostly trios, including Hell's Bells '78 on Strata-East, After The Morning '79 on West 54, Some Other Time '81 and John Hicks In Concert '84 on Theresa (later on Evidence CDs); Sketches Of Tokyo (with David Murray), East Side Blues and quartet Naima's Love Song all on DIW. Africa '87 on Timeless had Pharoah Sanders, Curtis Lundy and Idris Muhammad; I'll Give You Something To Remember Me By on Limetree was made the next day without Sanders. Two Of A Kind on Theresa (later on Evidence) was a duo with bassist Ray Drummond; Rhythm-A-Ning on Candid a two-piano quartet with Kenny Barron (another good teacher), Walter Booker and Jimmy Cobb, both in '89. Gentle Rain on Sound Hills had Booker and Louis Hayes. Power Trio on Novus with Cecil McBee and Elvin Jones was followed by Is That So? on Timeless with Drummond and Muhammad and solo Live At Maybeck Recital Hall on Concord, all in '90. Luminous on Evidence had flautist Elise Wood with bass and drums and Clifford Jordan on three tracks; Single Petal Of A Rose on Mapleshade with Wood (and Jack Walrath) was less adventurous. More albums: Crazy For You '92 and Lover Man c.'93 on Red Baron (the latter a tribute to Billie Holiday), piano duo Missouri Connection '92 with Jay McShann, and trio Beyond Expectations '93 (a trio on particularly good form, with Drummond and Marvin 'Smitty' Smith), duo Duality '94 with Peter Leitch on electric guitar deliberately miked to sound intimate, all on Reservoir. In The Mix '94 had Lundy on bass and Cecil Brooks III on drums plus Wood and Vincent Herring on reeds on various tracks; Piece For My Peace '95 had all of these plus Bobby Watson in duos, trios, quintet and sextet for a well-varied programme. Two trio sets on Highnote were tribute albums, with Dwayne Dolphin on bass and Cecil Brooks III on drums: Something To Live For (Billy Strayhorn) and Music In The Key Of Clark (Sonny Clark).