John Hicks (pianist)

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John Hicks

John Hicks (born December 21, 1941 in Atlanta , Georgia , † May 10, 2006 in New York ) was an American jazz pianist .

Live and act

As a child, Hicks moved with his parents to Los Angeles , and later to St. Louis , Missouri . At the age of six he received his first piano lessons from his mother. His father was a pastor and led a Methodist church. Hicks came into contact early on with black church music, through which he came to jazz .

After graduating from high school, he attended Lincoln University , where the university band also included Lester Bowie , Oliver Lake , Julius Hemphill, and Ronald Shannon Jackson . He then studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and the Juilliard School of Music in New York City . Hicks moved to New York in 1963, where he made his first appearances with jazz and blues singer Della Reese . He quickly established himself on the New York jazz scene, performing at Carnegie Hall , Avery Fisher Hall , Kennedy Center and Spivey Hall , and was a guest at numerous international jazz festivals.

Hick's music was shaped by various influences: In addition to Fats Waller , Methodist church music, George Gershwin , Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk should be mentioned. Lucky Thompson , Miles Davis, and Clark Terry were among his sponsors . Before moving to New York, Hicks played with Little Milton , Albert King , Al Gray , Johnny Griffin and Pharoah Sanders . He later played with numerous other well-known artists, such as Kenny Dorham , Lou Donaldson and Joe Henderson , until he became a permanent member of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers in 1973 . Two years later he joined the Betty Carter Trio, of which he was a member until 1980. Concert tours have taken him to Italy , Japan , Australia , Israel , France , England , Denmark , Sweden , Norway , Poland , South Africa and Taiwan .

In the course of time, Hicks made music live or for recordings with numerous jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins , Carmen McRae , Freddie Hubbard , Frank Foster , Roy Haynes , Sonny Stitt , Jon Hendricks , James Moody , David Murray ( Ming's Samba , 1988), Ricky Ford and Arthur Blythe .

In the 1990s, Hicks made another recording with Betty Carter ( The Music Never Stops ), produced live recordings of solo concerts and sessions with artists such as Joshua Redman , Al Gray , Clark Terry , Ron Carter , Grady Tate , Charles Tolliver , Oliver, among others Lake , Roy Hargrove , Gary Bartz, and Bobby Watson . With the Keystone Trio , which included bassist George Mraz and drummer Idris Muhammad , Hicks recorded a number of albums such as Heart Beats . With the New York Unit of Tatsuya Nakamura , he accompanied from 1990 soloists like George Adams on annual tours in Japan.

In his most recent musical productions, such as Music in the Key of Clark ( Sonny Clark ); Impressions of Mary Lou ( Mary Lou Williams ); Nightwind ( Erroll Garner ); John Hicks Trio and Strings with Larry Willis and Elise Wood; So In Love with Richard Davis ; Live in Taiwan , Beautiful Friendship with his wife, flautist Elise Wood and Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook put Hicks' focus on his own artistic style. Solo concerts, works in trio, quintet and sextet in changing line-ups became a trademark of Hick.

In May 2006, Hicks was admitted to a New York hospital, where he died on the 10th of the month at the age of 64.

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personal data
SURNAME Hicks, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Atlanta , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH May 10, 2006
Place of death New York City , New York