Edward Haydn Higgins (February 21, 1932 - August 31,
2009) was a jazz pianist, composer, and orchestrator.
Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Higgins
initially studied privately with his mother. He started his professional career
in Chicago, Illinois, while studying at the North-western University School of
Music. An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopaedic harmonic
approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive
jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting
musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.
Higgins also had the unusual ability to sound equally
persuasive in a broad span of music, whether he was playing traditional swing,
exciting bebop or reflexive ballads, providing the tone and stylistic flavour
of each style, as both a soloist and as accompanist.
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 the
late 1950s 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.
Here’s “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To “ from above
album.
Later, Higgins said the opportunities to play jazz music
with
Coleman Hawkins and Oscar Peterson were unforgettable moments. Higgins'
time spent at the London House Restaurant was 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, which were suspended due to a long
illness.
Higgins died from lung cancer in Fort Lauderdale at the
age of 77.
1 comment:
For “Eddie Higgins • Great Trio Sessions” go here:
A big thank you to egroj @ egroj world blog for original links
CD1 https://www.sendspace.com/file/9n66xt
CD2 https://www.sendspace.com/file/7nmxte
CD1
01. A Night In Tunisia 4:32
02. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe 5:03
03. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You 4:08
04. Prelude To A Kiss 6:30
05. Tangerine 4:42
06. Strike Up The Band 3:45
07. Over The Rainbow 5:28
08. I’ll Be Loving You 4:32
09. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To 3:07
10. Spring Is Here 5:58
11. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 4:55
12. Falling In Love With Love 4:40
13. Ab’s Blues 2:36
14. Blues For Big Scotia 4:11
15. How Long Has This Been Goin’ On 5:16
16. Falling In Love With Love [Alt. Tk.] 4:44
17. Untitled Blues 4:57
CD2
01. Satin Doll 4:25
02. Little Girl Blue 3:42
03. Blues For Big Scotia [Alt. Tk.] 4:11
04. Satin Doll [Alt. Tk.] 5:57
05. Tango Africaine 4:59
06. Love Letters 4:48
07. Shelley’s World 3:56
08. Soulero 5:14
09. Mr. Evans 3:20
10. Django 5:35
11. Beautiful Dreamer 4:43
12. Makin’ Whoopee 7:13
13. You Leave Me Breathless 4:30
14. Zarac, The Evil One 5:19
15. Foot’s Bag 7:17
16. You Leave Me Breathless [Alt. Tk.] 4:30
PERSONNEL:
EDDIE HIGGINS, piano on all tracks, plus:
CD1 [1-11]: THE EDDIE HIGGINS TRIO (Replica 1009)
DAVE POSKONKA, bass
JACK NOREN, drums
CD1 [12-17] CD2 [1-4]: EDDIE HIGGINS (Vee Jay VJLP-3017)
RICHARD EVANS, bass
MARSHALL THOMPSON, drums
CD2 [5-12]: SOULERO (Atlantic LP-SD1446)
Same personnel as above.
BONUS TRACKS CD 2 [13-16]
PAUL SERRANO, trumpet
FRANK FOSTER, tenor sax
EDDIE HIGGINS, piano
JIM ATLAS, bass
MARSHALL THOMPSON, drums.
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