- Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (
October 11 ,1936 –May 3 ,2001 ) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainlyfree jazz andhard bop .He played on
Ornette Coleman 's first records, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively withhard bop and other post-bop players, includingDonald Byrd ,Dexter Gordon ,Joe Henderson ,Milt Jackson ,Jackie McLean ,Pat Metheny ,Hank Mobley ,Thelonious Monk ,Lee Morgan , David Murray,Art Pepper ,Sonny Rollins ,Mal Waldron , andCedar Walton . He played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock andfunk . 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. It provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings.He was divorced from wife Mauricina Altier and had three sons, William, Joseph and David, and a stepson, Jody.
Discography
As a sideman:
*
Ornette Coleman : "Something Else!!!! " (1958)
* Joe Castro: "Groove Funk Soul!" (1958)
* Ornette Coleman: "The Shape of Jazz to Come " (1959)
*Dexter Gordon : "Go" (1962, Blue Note)
*Steve Lacy with Don Cherry: "Evidence" (1962)
*Sandy Bull : "Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo" (1963, Vanguard)
*Lee Morgan : "The Sidewinder " (1963)
* Lee Morgan: "Search for the New Land" (1964)
* Lee Morgan: "The Rumproller" (1965)
* Lee Morgan: "The Gigolo" (1965)
* Lee Morgan: "Cornbread" (1965)
* Sandy Bull: "Inventions" (1965, Vanguard)
*Hank Mobley : "Dippin' " (1965)
* Hank Mobley: "Hi Voltage" (1967)
*Archie Shepp : "Attica Blues" (1972)
*Clifford Jordan Quartet: "Glass Bead Game" (1973, 2 vols.; reissued in 2006 as "Glass Bead Games")
*Jimmy Raney : "The Influence" (1975, Xanadu)
* David Murray Big Band: "Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1 " (1984, Black Saint)
* David Murray Big Band: "Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2 " (1984, Black Saint)
*John Scofield : "Works for Me" (2000, Verve)External links
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifexqt5ldde Billy Higgins at Allmusic]
* [http://www.tonyspage.com/'We.re_really_blessed'.htm Paean by Tony Gieske]
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