John Hicks
Hicks in 2006
Background information
Birth name	John Josephus Hicks Jr.
Born	(1941-12-21)December 21, 1941 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	May 10, 2006(2006-05-10) (aged 64) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz,hard bop,bebop,free jazz,modal jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger, educator
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1958–2006

John Josephus Hicks Jr. (December 21, 1941 – May 10, 2006) was an Americanjazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was leader of more than 30 recordings and played as a sideman on more than 300.^[1]

After early experiences backing blues musicians, Hicks moved to New York in 1963. He was part ofArt Blakey's band for two years, accompanied vocalistBetty Carter from 1965 to 1967, before joiningWoody Herman's big band, where he stayed until 1970. Following these associations, Hicks expanded intofreer bands, including those of trumpetersCharles Tolliver andLester Bowie. He rejoined Carter in 1975; the five-year stay brought him more attention and helped to launch his recording career as a leader. He continued to play and record extensively in the United States and internationally. Under his own leadership, his recordings were mostlybebop-influenced, while those for other leaders continued to be in a diversity of styles, including multi-year associations with saxophonistsArthur Blythe,David Murray,David "Fathead" Newman, andPharoah Sanders.

Hicks was born inAtlanta, Georgia, on December 21, 1941,^[2] the eldest of five children.^[3] As a child, he moved with his family around the United States, as his father, Rev. John Hicks Sr, took up jobs with theMethodist church.^[2] His family was middle-class: "I was brought up as a decent human being, where you had aspirations and there were expectations", he commented.^[2] His mother, Pollie,^[1] was his first piano teacher,^[4] after he began playing aged six or seven in Los Angeles.^[2][5] He took organ lessons, sang in choirs and tried the violin and trombone.^[2] Around the age of 11, once he could read music, Hicks started playing the piano in church.^[6]

His development accelerated once his family moved toSt. Louis, when Hicks was 14 and he settled on the piano.^[2] There, he attendedSumner High School^[7] and played in schoolmateLester Bowie's band, the Continentals,^[8] which performed in a variety of musical styles.^[9] Hicks cited influences "fromFats Waller toThelonious Monk to Methodist church hymns",^[4] as well as local pianists.^[2] He was initially interested in the blues-based compositions ofHorace Silver and popular songs such as "I Got Rhythm" and "There Will Never Be Another You", for their easily recognised harmonies.^[10]

Hicks worked summer gigs in the southern United States with blues musiciansLittle Milton andAlbert King.^[2] His stint with Little Milton provided his first professional work, in 1958; Hicks stated that his playing in a variety of keys improved because the venue's piano was so out of tune that he had totranspose each piece that they played.^[5] He studied music in 1958 atLincoln University inPennsylvania,^[2][7] where he shared a room with drummerRonald Shannon Jackson.^[11] He also studied for a short time at theBerklee School of Music inBoston before moving to New York in 1963.^[2]

In New York, Hicks first accompanied singerDella Reese.^[12] He then played withJoe Farrell and toured with trombonistAl Grey and tenor saxophonistBilly Mitchell.^[2] In 1963 he was also part of saxophonistPharoah Sanders' first band,^[13] and appeared onCBC Television backing vocalistJimmy Witherspoon.^[14] After periods withKenny Dorham andJoe Henderson, Hicks joinedArt Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1964.^[4] His recording debut was with Blakey in November that year on the album'S Make It.^[15][16] Early in 1965, Hicks toured with Blakey to Japan, France, Switzerland, and England.^[5][16] Blakey encouraged his band members, including Hicks, to compose for the band,^[17] although they also played compositions by previous members of the band.^[18] He stayed with Blakey for two years,^[2] during which time his playing was compared with that ofMcCoy Tyner, for the level of energy displayed and for some of theintervals that they used.^[19]

In the period 1965 to 1967, Hicks worked on and off with vocalistBetty Carter;^[20] her liking for slow ballads helped him develop his sense of time.^[17] He then joinedWoody Herman's big band, where he stayed until 1970,^[4][21] playing as well as writing arrangements for the band.^[2] Hicks also began recording as a sideman with a wide range of leaders – in the 1960s these includedBooker Ervin,Hank Mobley, andLee Morgan – a trend that continued for the remainder of his career.^[5][15] From 1972 to 1973, Hicks taught jazz history and improvisation atSouthern Illinois University.^[22] From the 1970s, he also played in more avant garde bands,^[23] beginning with recordings led byOliver Lake and performances and recordings in the Netherlands withCharles Tolliver.^[5] He played with Blakey again in 1973.^[2] Hicks' debut recording as leader was on May 21, 1975, in England.^[24] The session resulted in two albums – the trioHells Bells, with bassistClint Houston and drummer Cliff Barbaro, and the solo pianoSteadfast^[24] – that were released byStrata-East Records several years later.^[25][26]

Hicks reunited with Carter in 1975, including accompanying her in a musical play,Don't Call Me Man, that year.^[27] After recording with Carter on herNow It's My Turn in 1976, Hicks returned to her band full-time; this raised his profile and led to his own recording –After the Morning.^[4] His sideman recording also continued, including withCarter Jefferson (1978) andChico Freeman (1978–79).^[5] Hicks was dismissed in 1980 by Carter, a forceful bandleader, for drinking.^[28]

Some Other Time in 1981, with bassistWalter Booker and drummerIdris Muhammad, revealed more of Hicks as a composer, and included his best-known song, "Naima's Love Song".^[4]

Hicks was the leader of groups from the mid-1970s onwards.^[5] His small groups included a quartet featuringSonny Fortune, Walter Booker, andJimmy Cobb (1975–82, from 1990); a group featuring the flutistElise Wood (with or without a drummer); and other groups featuringGary Bartz,Vincent Herring, saxophonistCraig Handy, bassistsCurtis Lundy orRay Drummond and drummersIdris Muhammad orVictor Lewis.^[5] His quintets and sextets includedRobin Eubanks and Tolliver (both from 1982),Branford Marsalis (1982–4),Hannibal Peterson (from 1983),Wynton Marsalis (1983–4), Craig Harris (1985–6),Eddie Henderson (1985–6, 1988–90), and Freeman (1985–8).^[5] A big band was created in autumn 1982 and revived on occasion subsequently.^[5] He played in the UK with Freeman's band in 1989.^[29]

From 1983, the flautist Elise Wood was frequently a member of his groups.^[4] As a duo, they played mostly jazz, but also some classical music.^[30] They formed a business partnership – John Hicks-Elise Wood, Inc. – and toured the US, Europe and Japan in the 1980s.^[31]

He also freelanced, including with players such asArthur Blythe,David Murray, andPharoah Sanders.^[2] During the 1980s, was a sideman forRichie Cole (1980), Arthur Blythe (In the Tradition), David Murray,Hamiet Bluiett,Art Davis, and Pharoah Sanders; recording with asRicky Ford (1980, 1982),Alvin Queen (1981),Peter Leitch (1984), Herring (1986), andBobby Watson (1986, 1988).^[5] In 1984, he had a big band that rehearsed; a sextet from it played concerts.^[32] From around 1989 into the 1990s, he played with theMingus Dynasty band, including for performances of the symphonyEpitaph.^[5] He recorded two albums in Japan in 1988 – the trioEast Side Blues and the quartetNaima's Love Song, with altoistBobby Watson added.^[33][34] By now making regular appearances at jazz festivals internationally,^[21] Hicks continued to perform in New York City.^[35]

Hicks divorced his wife, Olympia, in the early 1990s.^[2] The couple had a son and daughter (Jamil Malik and Naima).^[3]

Like many jazz musicians in the 1990s, Hicks recorded for multiple labels proposing different recording ideas.^[36] The resultant recordings included duo sessions withJay McShann (1992) and Leitch (1994) for the AmericanReservoir Records,^[5][37][38] and several trio-based sessions for Japanese labels – the New York Unit with bassistRichard Davis and drummerTatsuya Nakamura forPaddle Wheel Records,^[39] and the New York Rhythm Machine with bassistMarcus McLaurine and drummerVictor Lewis forVenus Records.^[40] These were followed by more trio recordings for other labels – the Keystone Trio of George Mraz and Muhammad for theMilestone label from 1995,^[5][41] and a longer-lasting band withDwayne Dolphin on bass andCecil Brooks III on drums forHighNote Records from 1997.^[16] The last of these included his most commercially successful recordings, which were tributes to other pianists, includingSomething to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook,Impressions of Mary Lou, andFatha's Day: An Earl Hines Songbook.^[4] There were five such albums, all linked toPittsburgh-associated pianist-composers; the other two wereNightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook, andMusic in the Key of Clark forSonny Clark.^[42][43] Hicks played on five ofDavid "Fathead" Newman's albums for HighNote,^[44] and was described in 2000 as the "HighNote house pianist".^[45]

There were also more dates as a sideman for Murray, Leitch, Blythe, Freeman, andRoy Hargrove (1989–90, 1995), Bartz (1990), Lake (1991),Steve Marcus andValery Ponomarev (both 1993),Nick Brignola,Russell Gunn, andKevin Mahogany (all 1994), theMingus Big Band (c1995), Fortune (1996), andJimmy Ponder (1997).^[5] As leader, his repertoire in the 1990s was often of familiar standards.^[46] He performed in the UK with the Mingus Big Band in 1999,^[47] and played on their albumBlues and Politics in the same year.^[48] The pianist recordedthe seventh instalment of the "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall" series of solo piano concerts which were recorded forConcord Records. He was part ofJoe Lovano's quartet in 1998,^[49] which led to Hicks being part of the saxophonist's nonet from its formation the following year.^[50]

Hicks and Wood married in June 2001.^[51] He made a rare recording on organ (Hammond B3) on saxophonistArthur Blythe'sExhale.^[52][53] Over the last decade or so of Hicks life, he recorded several collaborations with Elise Wood to mixed reviews (Single Petal of a Rose,Trio & Strings,Beautiful Friendship).^[42]

Towards the end of his life, Hicks taught atNew York University andThe New School in New York.^[21] Asked about his teaching in January 2006, Hicks replied that "I don't care how advanced my students are, I always start them off with the blues. It all comes from there."^[6] Early in 2006, Hicks again played in a big band, this time led by Charles Tolliver.^[54] In January and February, he toured Israel, chiefly playingThelonious Monk compositions.^[6] Hicks' final studio recording wasOn the Wings of an Eagle in March 2006.^[55] His last performance was at St Mark's United Methodist Church in New York City a few days before he died.^[2] He died on May 10, 2006, from internal bleeding.^[3] Hicks is buried atSouth-View Cemetery in his hometown of Atlanta.^[56]

Wood survived him, and has led a band dedicated to his music.^[57] In the view of AllMusic reviewer Michael G. Nastos, "Hicks died before reaping the ultimate rewards and high praise he deserved".^[58] A collection of his papers and compositions, as well as video and audio recordings, is held byDuke University.^[59]

Fellow pianistGeorge Cables stated that Hicks "was a very strong and energetic player, and a very warm player, very much part of the tradition".^[19] Hicks's playing was sometimes criticized as being insubstantial;The Penguin Guide to Jazz commented that "This [...] is missing the point. Almost always, he is more concerned to work within the dimensions of a song than to go off into the stratosphere."^[60]

Hicks had a style of his own, containing a "combination of irresistible creativity and responsiveness [...] encompassing swing, hard bop and the avant garde, and made him a first-call choice for many of the most important American modern jazz groups".^[2] A reviewer of a 1993 release,Lover Man: A Tribute to Billie Holiday, commented that Hicks "mastered the technique of shaping a piano chord so it sounds like the rising and falling of a breath".^[61] A few years later, another reviewer highlighted the "subtle dynamic shadings" of Hicks's left hand, and his "reverence for melody and a sense of musical destination that gives form to his improvisations."^[62] As an accompanist, Hicks played delicately, with carefully voiced chords.^[63]

His compositions "are wandering and melodic, suggestive and malleable yet memorable".^[57] He "enjoyed writing arrangements for a quintet or sextet, often, like the finest jazz composers, tailoring parts to specific musicians. In the past, these have included artists of the caliber of Bobby Watson and Vincent Herring; more recently he has been working with Javon Jackson and Elise [Wood]".^[64]

An asterisk (*) after the year indicates that it is the year of release.

Bibliography

• 1941 births
• 2006 deaths
• 20th-century American male musicians
• 20th-century American jazz composers
• African-American jazz composers
• African-American jazz pianists
• American male jazz composers
• American male jazz pianists
• Burials at South-View Cemetery
• Chesky Records artists
• DIW Records artists
• HighNote Records artists
• Mapleshade Records artists
• Milestone Records artists
• Mingus Big Band members
• Musicians from Atlanta
• Palmetto Records artists
• Red Baron Records artists
• Reservoir Records artists
• Strata-East Records artists
• Sumner High School (St. Louis) alumni
• The Jazz Messengers members
• Timeless Records artists

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