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Living Jazz Legend 'Chico' Hamilton dies
New York - Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton, an influential jazz drummer and band leader who was an architect of the West Coast cool jazz style and was known for discovering young talent, has died. He was 92.
His publicist said he died on Monday of natural causes at his New York home.
Hamilton recorded more than 60 albums as a band leader, beginning in the 1950s, and also appeared in and scored films. He was saluted as a Living Jazz Legend by the Kennedy Center.
He continued playing into his 90s and recorded an album, Inquiring Minds, last month with his Euphoria ensemble which is scheduled for release early next year.
Born in Los Angeles, he performed in a school jazz school jazz band that included saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Charles Mingus and other classmates destined to become jazz greats.
He worked as a sideman in the 1940s with Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and others. He toured with singer Lena Horne in 1948-55 and, between tours, did studio work and played with bands in Los Angeles.
That was where he hooked up with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan in 1952. Hamilton's subtle, creative drum playing was a key component of Mulligan's ground-breaking piano-less quartet, featuring trumpeter Chet Baker, that was pivotal in the creation of the mellower, more lyrical West Coast cool jazz sound.
"I've always seen the drums as a melodic instrument, not a percussive one," Hamilton told jazz writer Marc Myers in 2009.
In 1955, Hamilton began his career as a band leader. Later that year, he formed an unusually instrumented chamber jazz quintet - which included cellist Fred Katz, flautist Buddy Collette and guitarist Hall - that became one of the most influential West Coast jazz bands and gained national prominence.
The group - with flautist Paul Horn and guitarist John Pisano - made a cameo appearance in the 1957 Burt Lancaster- Tony Curtis film, Sweet Smell Of Success. In the mid-1960s, Hamilton formed a company to score films and commercials.
In 1987, Hamilton was a founding member of the jazz faculty at the New School University, where his students included John Popper of Blues Traveler and Eric Schenkman of The Spin Doctors.
That same year, he formed a new band called Euphoria that toured and recorded extensively for the independent Joyous Shout! label, including releasing four new albums to celebrate his 85th birthday in 2006.
Hamilton is survived by his daughter Denise, his brother Don, one granddaughter and two great-granddaughters. His wife, Helen, died in 2008.
Associated Press
New York - Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton, an influential jazz drummer and band leader who was an architect of the West Coast cool jazz style and was known for discovering young talent, has died. He was 92.
His publicist said he died on Monday of natural causes at his New York home.
Hamilton recorded more than 60 albums as a band leader, beginning in the 1950s, and also appeared in and scored films. He was saluted as a Living Jazz Legend by the Kennedy Center.
He continued playing into his 90s and recorded an album, Inquiring Minds, last month with his Euphoria ensemble which is scheduled for release early next year.
Born in Los Angeles, he performed in a school jazz school jazz band that included saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Charles Mingus and other classmates destined to become jazz greats.
He worked as a sideman in the 1940s with Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and others. He toured with singer Lena Horne in 1948-55 and, between tours, did studio work and played with bands in Los Angeles.
That was where he hooked up with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan in 1952. Hamilton's subtle, creative drum playing was a key component of Mulligan's ground-breaking piano-less quartet, featuring trumpeter Chet Baker, that was pivotal in the creation of the mellower, more lyrical West Coast cool jazz sound.
"I've always seen the drums as a melodic instrument, not a percussive one," Hamilton told jazz writer Marc Myers in 2009.
In 1955, Hamilton began his career as a band leader. Later that year, he formed an unusually instrumented chamber jazz quintet - which included cellist Fred Katz, flautist Buddy Collette and guitarist Hall - that became one of the most influential West Coast jazz bands and gained national prominence.
The group - with flautist Paul Horn and guitarist John Pisano - made a cameo appearance in the 1957 Burt Lancaster- Tony Curtis film, Sweet Smell Of Success. In the mid-1960s, Hamilton formed a company to score films and commercials.
In 1987, Hamilton was a founding member of the jazz faculty at the New School University, where his students included John Popper of Blues Traveler and Eric Schenkman of The Spin Doctors.
That same year, he formed a new band called Euphoria that toured and recorded extensively for the independent Joyous Shout! label, including releasing four new albums to celebrate his 85th birthday in 2006.
Hamilton is survived by his daughter Denise, his brother Don, one granddaughter and two great-granddaughters. His wife, Helen, died in 2008.
Associated Press
