Lonnie Hillyer
Encyclopedia
Lonnie Hillyer was an American jazz
trumpeter, strongly influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk
and other bebop legends of that era.
Lonnie Hillyer moved with his family to Detroit at age three, and began studying music at 14 under Barry Harris
. In 1960, he moved to New York
, where he played with Charles Mingus
, Yusef Lateef
, and Clifford Jarvis
. Lonnie Hillyer's association with Mingus lasted more than a decade, performing on records such as "My Favorite Quintet" and "Let My Children Hear Music".
In 1966, Lonnie Hillyer and Charles McPherson formed a quintet performed together during the years following. McPherson also grew up with Hillyer in Detroit. Around 1983 he and (former Monk tenor saxophonist) Charles Rouse formed a jazz quintet ("Bebop Quintessence"), with (drummer) Leroy Williams, (pianist) Hugh Lawson and (bassist) Ben Brown.
Hillyer performed live with many musicians including Thelonious Monk
, Art Blakey
, Philly Joe Jones
, Willie Bobo
, Barry Harris
, Walter Davis, Jr.
, Abbey Lincoln
, and many others.
He died of cancer
in July 1985.
His son, Lonnie D. Hillyer, is a rock bassist (J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz, Maggie's Dream, Billy Joel, Gordon Gano, Bernie Worrell.
With Charles Mingus
Reincarnation of a Lovebird - Candid 1960
My Favorite Quintet - Liberty 1969
Let My Children Hear Music - Columbia 1971
At UCLA 1965 - Sue Mingus Music 2006
Charles Mingus - The Complete 1960 Nat Hentoff Sessions [Box] - CD
Charles Mingus film documentaries: "Beneath The Underdog" and "Triumph Of The Underdog
Eric Dolphy - "Candid Dolphy" - Candid Records 1960
Barry Harris - "Newer Than New" - Riverside Records 1961
Pharaoh Saunders Oh Pharaoh Speak - The Latin Jazz Quintet-Oh! 1965
Charles McPherson - Live At The Five Spot - Prestige Records 1966
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter, strongly influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk
and other bebop legends of that era.
Lonnie Hillyer moved with his family to Detroit at age three, and began studying music at 14 under Barry Harris
Barry Harris
Barry Doyle Harris is an American bebop jazz pianist and educator.-Biography:Harris left Detroit for New York City in 1960...
. In 1960, he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he played with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, Yusef Lateef
Yusef Lateef
Dr. Yusef Lateef is an American Grammy Award-winning jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator and a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after his conversion to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam in 1950.Although Lateef's main instruments are the tenor saxophone and flute, he is known for...
, and Clifford Jarvis
Clifford Jarvis
Clifford Jarvis was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer.After studying at Berklee in the 1950s he established himself in jazz between 1959 and 1966 by recording with Chet Baker, Randy Weston, Yusef Lateef, Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Jackie McLean, and Elmo Hope, and playing with Grant...
. Lonnie Hillyer's association with Mingus lasted more than a decade, performing on records such as "My Favorite Quintet" and "Let My Children Hear Music".
In 1966, Lonnie Hillyer and Charles McPherson formed a quintet performed together during the years following. McPherson also grew up with Hillyer in Detroit. Around 1983 he and (former Monk tenor saxophonist) Charles Rouse formed a jazz quintet ("Bebop Quintessence"), with (drummer) Leroy Williams, (pianist) Hugh Lawson and (bassist) Ben Brown.
Hillyer performed live with many musicians including Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
, Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
, Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.-Biography:William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument...
, Barry Harris
Barry Harris
Barry Doyle Harris is an American bebop jazz pianist and educator.-Biography:Harris left Detroit for New York City in 1960...
, Walter Davis, Jr.
Walter Davis, Jr.
Walter Davis, Jr. was an American hard bop pianist.Born in Richmond, Virginia, Davis performed as a teenager with Babs Gonzales and his group Three Bips and a Bop. In the 1950s, Davis recorded with Melba Liston, Max Roach and played with Roach, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie...
, Abbey Lincoln
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...
, and many others.
He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in July 1985.
His son, Lonnie D. Hillyer, is a rock bassist (J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz, Maggie's Dream, Billy Joel, Gordon Gano, Bernie Worrell.
As a sideman
Yusef Lateef - Cry! - Tender 1959With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
Reincarnation of a Lovebird - Candid 1960
My Favorite Quintet - Liberty 1969
Let My Children Hear Music - Columbia 1971
- Charles Mingus and Friends in ConcertCharles Mingus and Friends in ConcertCharles Mingus and Friends in Concert is a live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus recorded at the Philharmonic hall of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1972 and released on the Columbia label...
(Columbia, 1972)
At UCLA 1965 - Sue Mingus Music 2006
Charles Mingus - The Complete 1960 Nat Hentoff Sessions [Box] - CD
Charles Mingus film documentaries: "Beneath The Underdog" and "Triumph Of The Underdog
Eric Dolphy - "Candid Dolphy" - Candid Records 1960
Barry Harris - "Newer Than New" - Riverside Records 1961
Pharaoh Saunders Oh Pharaoh Speak - The Latin Jazz Quintet-Oh! 1965
Charles McPherson - Live At The Five Spot - Prestige Records 1966