Wikipedia

Billy Higgins

For other people named Billy Higgins, see Billy Higgins (disambiguation).

Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.[1]

Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins in 1978.
Background information
Born(1936-10-11)October 11, 1936
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 2001(2001-05-03) (aged 64)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, educator
Instrument(s)Drums
Formerly ofOrnette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Cedar Walton, Charles Lloyd, Pat Metheny

Biography

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Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States.[2] Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958.[3] He then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Don Cherry, Paul Horn, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton.[3] He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 1960s.[3] He also collaborated with composer La Monte Young and guitarist Sandy Bull.

In his career, he played on over 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk. 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. The center provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings. Higgins also taught in the jazz studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles.[4]

Billy Higgins died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001, at a hospital in Inglewood, California.[4]

Discography

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As leader

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As a sideman

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With Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt

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With Chris Anderson

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With Gary Bartz

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With Paul Bley

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With Sandy Bull

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With Jaki Byard

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With Donald Byrd

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With Joe Castro

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With Don Cherry

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With Sonny Clark

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With George Coleman

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With Ornette Coleman

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With John Coltrane
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With Junior Cook

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With Bill Cosby

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  • Hello, Friend: To Ennis with Love (Verve, 1997)

With Stanley Cowell

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With Ray Drummond

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  • The Essence (DMP, 1985)

With Teddy Edwards

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With Booker Ervin

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With Art Farmer

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With Curtis Fuller

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With Stan Getz

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With Dexter Gordon

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With Grant Green

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With Dodo Greene

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With Charlie Haden

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With Slide Hampton
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  • Roots (Criss Cross, 1985)

With Herbie Hancock

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With Barry Harris

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With Eddie Harris

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With Johnny Hartman

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With Jimmy Heath

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With Joe Henderson

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With Andrew Hill

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With Christopher Hollyday

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With Richard "Groove" Holmes

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With Paul Horn

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With Toninho Horta

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With Freddie Hubbard

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With Bobby Hutcherson

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With J. J. Johnson

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With Hank Jones and Dave Holland

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With Sam Jones

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With Clifford Jordan

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With Fred Katz

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With Steve Lacy

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With Charles Lloyd

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With Pat Martino

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  • The Visit! (Cobblestone, 1972) also released as Footprints

With Jackie McLean

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With Charles McPherson

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With Pat Metheny

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With Blue Mitchell
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With Red Mitchell

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With Hank Mobley

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With Thelonious Monk

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With Buddy Montgomery

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With Tete Montoliu

With Frank Morgan

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With Lee Morgan

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With Bheki Mseleku

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  • Star Seeding (Polygram Records, 1995)

With David Murray

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With Horace Parlan

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With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

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With Art Pepper

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With Dave Pike

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With Jimmy Raney

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With Sonny Red

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With Freddie Redd

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With Joshua Redman

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With Red Rodney

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With Sonny Rollins

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With Charlie Rouse

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With Hilton Ruiz

With Pharoah Sanders

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With Rob Schneiderman

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With John Scofield

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With Shirley Scott

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With Archie Shepp

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With Sonny Simmons

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With James Spaulding

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With Robert Stewart

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With Sonny Stitt

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With Idrees Sulieman

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With Ira Sullivan

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With Sun Ra

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With Cecil Taylor

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With Lucky Thompson

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With the Timeless All Stars

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With Bobby Timmons

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With Charles Tolliver

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With Stanley Turrentine

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With Mal Waldron

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With Cedar Walton

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With Don Wilkerson

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With David Williams

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With Jack Wilson

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References

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  1. ^ "Billy Higgins | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. ^ James Nadal (ed.). "Billy Higgins". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  3. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  4. ^ a b Ratliff, Ben (2001-05-04). "Billy Higgins, 64, Jazz Drummer With Melodic and Subtle Swing". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
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