Eddie Higgins

Eddie Higgins
Eddie Higgins
	Higgins in 1957
Background information
Birth name	Hayden Higgins
Born	February 21, 1932; Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 31, 2009 (aged 77); Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger, singer
Instrument(s)	Piano, vocals
Years active	1956–2009
Labels	Atlantic, Sunnyside

Edward Haydn Higgins (February 21, 1932 – August 31, 2009) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and orchestrator.^[1] His performance and composition in 1959's "Cry of Jazz" is preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.^[2]

Biography

Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, Higgins initially studied privately with his mother. He started his professional career in Chicago, Illinois, while studying at the Northwestern University School of Music and earned a spot in fellow Northwestern alumnus Paul Severson's band in 1956 before leading his own band in 1957.^[2]

For more than two decades Higgins worked at some of Chicago's most prestigious jazz clubs, including the Brass Rail, Preview Lounge, Blue Note, Cloister Inn and Jazz, Ltd. His longest and most memorable tenure was at the long-gone London House, where he led his jazz trio from 1957 to the late 1960s, playing opposite jazz stars of this period, including Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson and George Shearing, among others. Later, Higgins said the opportunities to play jazz music with Coleman Hawkins and Oscar Peterson were unforgettable moments. Higgins spent his time at the London House Restaurant with bassist Richard Evans and drummer Marshall Thompson. Higgins also worked for Chess Records as a producer.

During his stay in Chicago, Higgins also recorded a significant number of albums under his auspices and many more as a sideman with a wide variety of musicians, ranging in style from tenor saxophonists Hawkins to Sonny Stitt to Wayne Shorter; trumpeters Bobby Lewis to Harry Edison to Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard; and trombonists Jack Teagarden to Al Grey. His versatility was captured on stage and records, backing up singers and leading his own projects as both pianist and orchestrator, working in every jazz circle from dixieland to modal styles. Although he opted to decline the offer, Higgins was asked at one point by Art Blakey to join the seminal hard bop quintet, The Jazz Messengers.

In 1970, Higgins moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and began spending winters in Florida and summers on Cape Cod, where he played in local clubs. Since the early 1980s, he traveled widely on the jazz festival circuit and performed frequently in Europe and Japan. His releases on the Japanese Venus label earned him number one in jazz sales on more than one album. After that, Higgins played his music mainly in East Asia including Japan and South Korea. During his career in East Asia, Higgins formed a successful trio with Joe Ascione (drums), and Jay Leonhart (bass). In 1988, Higgins and jazz singer and pianist Meredith d'Ambrosio were married and became a popular team at clubs and festivals, as well as recording for Sunnyside Records.

In 2009, dates in Japan and Korea were on his calendar of upcoming concerts, but were suspended due to a long illness.

Higgins died on August 31, 2009, of lung and lymphatic cancer in Fort Lauderdale at the age of 77.

Style

Eddie Higgins's delicate tone and conception were often compared to those of Bill Evans, one of the most influential and successful jazz pianists. He mostly played bop and mainstream jazz music throughout his career. Higgins was at home playing melodies with swing-like feeling. His melodies had groove and swing without being superfluous, and was often compared to Oscar Peterson and Nat King Cole.

Accomplishment

In 2009, Eddie Higgins received Jazz Disc Award from the most respected jazz magazine in Japan, Swing Journal. With his album, Portraits of Love, Higgins won the Best Album of the Year. In the same year, Higgins received another award from Best Engineering Album of the Year.

Discography

As leader

Year recorded	Title	Label	Notes
1957	The Ed Higgins Trio	Replica	Trio, with Dave Poskonka (bass), Jack Noren (drums)
1960	Eddie Higgins	Vee-Jay	Some tracks trio with Jim Atlas (bass), Marshall Thompson (drums); some tracks quintet, with Paul Serrano (trumpet), Frank Foster (tenor sax) added; some tracks trio with Richard Evans (bass), Thompson (drums)
1965	Soulero	Atlantic	Trio, with Richard Evans (bass) Marshall Thompson (drums)
1966	The Piano of Eddie Higgins	Atlantic	Some tracks trio; some tracks with orchestra
1967	Music from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	Tower	Trio, with Richard Evans (bass), Marshall Thompson (drums)
1979	My Time of Day	Claremont	Trio, with John Bany (bass), Marshall Thompson (drums) Recorded October 24 & 25, 1978. Reissued as In Chicago (1995)
1979	Dream Dancing	Claremont	Trio, with John Bany (bass), Marshall Thompson (drums) Recorded October 24 & 25, 1978 Reissued as In Chicago (1995)
1980	Sweet Lorraine	EMI	Trio, with Osamu Kawakami (bass), Jimmy Takeuchi (drums)
1982	Once in a While	Spinnster	Most tracks sextet, with Pete Minger (flugelhorn), John Swan (flugelhorn, trumpet), Bill Prince (flugelhorn, trumpet, tenor sax), Lew Berryman (bass), Norman "Red" Hawley (drums); one track septet, with Nancy Weckwerth (French horn) added; in concert
1986	By Request	Solo Art	Trio, with Milt Hinton (bass), Bobby Rosengarden (drums)
1990	Those Quiet Days	Sunnyside	Trio, with Kevin Eubanks (guitar), Rufus Reid (bass)
1992	By Request	Solo Art	Solo piano
1994	Zoot's Hymns	Sunnyside	Quartet, with John Doughten (tenor sax), Phil Flanigan (bass), Danny Burger (drums)
1996	Portrait in Black and White	Sunnyside	Trio, with Don Wilner (bass), James Martin (drums)
1997	Haunted Heart	Sunnyside	Trio, with Ray Drummond (bass), Ben Riley (drums)
1998	Speaking of Jobim	Sunnyside	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Terry Clarke (drums)
1998	Again	Venus	Trio, with Ray Drummond (bass), Ben Riley (drums)
1999	Live At The Van Dyke Cafe in Miami	Don Wilner	Duo, with Don Wilner (bass)
1999	Time on My Hands	Arbors	Solo piano
2000	Don't Smoke in Bed	Venus	Trio, with John Pizzarelli (guitar), Jay Leonhart (bass)
2001	Bewitched	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2001	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	Venus	Quartet, with Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Steve Gilmore (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)
2002	Dear Old Stockholm	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2002	My Foolish Heart	Venus	Quartet, with Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Steve Gilmore (bass), Bill Goodwin (drums)
2003	You Don't Know What Love Is	Venus	Solo piano
2003	Moonlight Becomes You	Venus	With Joe Locke (vibes) Joe Cohn (guitar), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums); plus strings
2004	If Dreams Come True	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2004	Christmas Songs	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2004	My Funny Valentine	Venus	Quartet, with Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2005	Amor	Venus	Trio, with Sean Smith (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2006	Christmas Songs 2	Venus	Most tracks trio, with George Mraz (bass), Ben Riley(drums); two tracks quartet, with Scott Hamilton (tenor sax) added
2006	A Fine Romance	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Mark Taylor (drums)
2006	A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Mark Taylor (drums)
2006	Secret Love	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Mark Taylor (drums)
2006	You Are Too Beautiful	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Mark Taylor (drums)
2006	It's Magic	Venus	With Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet), Jay Leonhart (bass), Ben Riley (drums)
2008	A Handful of Stars	Venus	With Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)
2008	Standards By Request 1st Day	Venus	Solo piano
2008	Standards By Request 2nd Day	Venus	Solo piano
2008	Portraits of Love	Venus	Trio, with Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Ascione (drums)