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 Whether
it’s at an intimate Manhattan jazz club, or a major festival
in Italy, when Billy Higgins is on the bandstand, people take
notice, and rightly so. It’s no mere coincidence that his
masterful sense of swing, his sublime taste and sensitivity,
along with his infectious smile have been an integral part of
many of the foremost groups in jazz for well over 40 years.
From John Coltrane to Pat Metheny to his own groups, Billy
Higgins has always been known for bringing along those
certain intangibles, the very things that take the music to
another level of greatness. And at an age when many
contemplate retirement, Billy continues to be one of the most
vibrant and exciting voices in jazz, as well as one of the
most respected and well loved of all jazz heroes.
A Los
Angeles native, Billy began his love affair with the drums at
age 5, a relationship that has since made him perhaps the most
recorded musician in jazz history. As a youngster Billy worked
with several Southern California area r&b groups, as well
as jazz greats Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards and Red Mitchell.
It was in high school that he met trumpeter Don Cherry, and
together formed the group The Jazz Messiahs. Soon, they met a
young alto saxophonist from Texas, whose controversial ideas
and approach served to revolutionize jazz, Ornette Coleman.
Billy and Don, along with bassist Charlie Haden, became
members of Ornette¹s famed first quartet, and recorded
several albums for Contemporary and Atlantic Records. While
these albums caused a critical uproar in their day, albums
like 1959’s The Shape of Jazz to Come have since earned
their rightful spot among the great jazz recordings of all
time. With Ornette¹s music that emphasized melodic freedom
and rhythmic liberation, Billy’s sensitive and melodic
approach had found the perfect home. With the quartet making
its New York debut in 1959, Billy quickly became one of the
brightest young stars in jazz, and in 1961 was awarded
Downbeat magazine’s “New Star of the Year” award. But
unlike many of the musicians so often associated with the
avant-garde, Billy also emerged as one of the preeminent hard
bop drummers in the world. Soon one would find Billy’s name
on the lp jackets on many of the greatest musicians in the
history of jazz. Names like Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins,
John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean,
Dexter Gordon and perhaps most of all, Lee Morgan. Billy’s
association with Lee Morgan was one of the most prolific and
rewarding in all of jazz. Of Lee’s amazing output of records
on the Blue Note label in the 1960’s only a rare few did not
include Billy. Everything from Lee’s funky 1963 hit, The
Sidewinder, to the introspective Search For the New Land
featured Billy, and the two became close friends. Billy soon
became something of a fixture at the Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey recording studio of Blue Note engineer Rudy Van Gelder,
appearing on countless albums for the label, and in the
process contributing greatly to the much heralded “Blue Note
Sound” of 1960’s hard bop.
With
the decline of jazz in the late 1960’s, many once
prominent jazz musicians faced difficult artistic choices, and
often, their music went into decline. However, in the case of
Billy Higgins, the 1970’s saw the birth of his continuing
association with pianist and composer Cedar Walton, which
today is one of the most famous, productive and long lasting
musical partnerships in jazz. Their groups, such as the
Timeless All Stars (w/ Harold Land, Curtis Fuller, Bobby
Hutcherson, Buster Williams) produced some of the best
bop-based jazz of the decade, paving the way for the revival
of the style by the young lions of the 1980’s. In fact their
quartet Eastern Rebellion, came about as a musical
“rebellion” against the watered down commercially oriented
jazz of the day. It was also during this period that Billy
overcame personal adversity, and with the help of friend and
colleague Jackie McLean, embraced Islam. Throughout the
1980’s, Billy continued as a major force in the world of
jazz, and thriving in the revived atmosphere of acoustic jazz.
Along with Eastern Rebellion and the Timeless All Stars, Billy
continued recording a successful series of albums as a leader,
as well as being one of the most in demand sidemen in jazz. In
1986, Billy was featured (both as musician and actor) in
Bertrand Tavernier¹s movie Round Midnight. Based upon the
lives of jazz musicians Lester Young and Bud Powell, the movie
earned saxophonist Dexter Gordon an Academy Award nomination
for Best Actor. Following the release of the soundtrack, Billy
received a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition, for
the tune Call Sheet Blues, written with co-composers Herbie
Hancock, Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter. In recent years, Billy
has devoted a great deal of his time to helping young people
become involved in jazz. He is co-founder of LA’s World
Stage, a cultural center which offers the young musicians of
Southern California not only a performance space, but a
cultural center where they can grow and develop their talents.
Billy is also a faculty member of the UCLA Jazz Studies
program and the founder of the Annual Day of the Drum
festival, a Los Angeles event which brings together
percussionists from around the world.
After
overcoming serious health problems in the mid 90’s, Billy
has returned to form, and according to many, is playing better
than ever. In 1997 Billy became one of a select group of jazz
musicians to receive the National Endowment for the Arts
American Jazz Masters Fellowship, joining musicians like Miles
Davis, Clark Terry, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sonny Rollins. In
1998 Billy was awarded the 4th annual Phineas Newborn Jr.
award, an award created by pianist James Williams to honor
those who exemplify musical excellence in jazz. And it¹s not
just been awards which have been keeping Billy’s name in the
jazz headlines. In one of the most anticipated events in
recent memory, Billy participated in a reunion of Ornette
Coleman’s original group (minus the late Don Cherry), for a
special concert at New York’s Lincoln Center. In the winter
of 1999 Billy helped kick off the New York celebration of the
60th anniversary of Blue Note records by leading a new group
called the True Blue All Stars. The group features former Blue
Note stars Curtis Fuller and James Spaulding, and will release
a new album on the label in the coming months. And of course,
in the spring of 1999, Fresno became host to 1st annual Billy
Higgins Fresno State Jazz Festival, a star studded event which
featured stars like Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Terence
Blanchard and John Hicks, all paying tribute to Billy’s
legendary achievements. Last year’s festival continued the
tradition of attracting world class artists like Regina
Carter, as well as featuring Billy’s sextet with another
show stopping performance. Add in Billy’s recent flurry of
recording activity with everyone from Charles Lloyd to John
Scofield (and a disc by Jackie McLean with Cedar Walton and
David Williams recorded just days after 1999’s festival),
and it is clear that Billy Higgins not only remains one of the
world’s greatest drummers, but one of the most active as
well. Even recent health problems have been unable to sideline
Billy’s trademark smile, as star studded benefit concerts
have been hosted coast to coast, showing just how much the
jazz world loves Higgins and his music.
Still,
after over 40 years as one of the premiere drummers in jazz,
“Smiling Billy” (as he was dubbed by saxophonist Jimmy
Heath) continues to inspire and amaze the jazz community at
levels unmatched by those half his age. His unique musical
ability has won him acclaim around the world and a permanent
place in the history of the music. But what really makes Billy
Higgins unique? Some have analyzed his playing, demonstrating
the uniqueness of his cymbal beat, or his careful use of space
and sensitivity for any soloist or setting. But everyone from
diehard jazz fans to professional critics, even famous
musicians themselves, will tell you while those things are
important to what makes Billy Higgins the great musician he
is, there’s something more to his greatness, something
intangible. When Billy Higgins plays he immerses himself in
the music and embraces the musicians regardless of the
setting, consistently bringing out the best in those around
him. Like pianist James Williams said in a recent interview
for the BHFSJF, “Billy makes everyone around him much better
- like Magic Johnson did for the Lakers - whether they have
minimal talent or exceptional, everyone rises to the occasion
when Billy is on the drums.” And ironically, while Billy has
one of the most personal sounds in the world of jazz, he is
never one to put himself over the good of the group. “Billy
is a team player, not striving to show what he can do. He
approaches a performance or recording as ‘what do I need to
do to make the music better.’ He is about the music, not
grandstanding or making himself noticed on the stand. That is
a such a strong legacy, and one of the reasons he is so
preferred by the musicians.” This selfless approach has
largely been responsible for him being the most recorded
drummer in history simply because he can adapt himself to so
many differing styles, from bebop, to hard bop, the avant
garde and beyond.
But
there’s still more to Billy’s greatness than being a great
team player. As drummer Carl Allen told JazzTimes’s Bill
Milkowski recently, “He brings a freshness to the music.
When you hear him play, when you feel him play, you really
experience his compassion for the music. His consistent high
level of devotion and respect and love that he has for this
music always comes through in his playing.” And one really
does feel Billy play, and not just in the pyrotechnic sense.
As James Williams told JazzTimes, “The bandstand is lifted
off the ground when Billy is playing. It’s like being in a
church service, like hearing Aretha singing gospel or Ray
Charles singing a blues.” And it’s the uplifting feeling,
that communication of pure joy, that really sets Billy apart.
Because after all, that famous smile that Billy is so well
known for is there because Billy is having fun, and is
unafraid to show it. As pianist Harold Mabern said, “His
personality carries over into the music. He’s always happy.
I’ve never seen Billy Higgins with a frown on his face, on
the stage or off.” And just as Billy’s smile carries over
into the music, it also touches each person who is there to
experience it. He embraces the musicians and the audience like
few others, captivating their imagination, expressing all
those qualities that make him who he is. He fills the listener
with that joy, that exuberance, that love and compassion, and
like all great artists, makes a personal statement that we can
all relate to.
So,
ultimately it’s the uplifting personality of Billy Higgins
that has been responsible for elevating him into the highest
echelon of jazz musicians. He's a musician who is at home in
nearly any musical setting, and one who consistently finds
ways to take the music of whatever group he may be with to the
next level. He’s a musician who always puts the idea of the
group ahead of the personal spotlight, and yet still is among
the most individual voices in jazz. And he’s a musician who
infuses the music with the excitement and joy that is so much
a part of his personal attitude. And for over 40 years, all of
these things have combined to produce wonderful music which
has touched the lives of millions of people around the world.
And at the places where all those unique attributes meet,
you’ll hear the sound of a legend.
©
Joe Moore - 2001
Back
to KFSR's Billy Higgins Tribute Page...
Photo
of Billy Higgins by Jimmy Katz
- Used with permission.
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