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Eddie Higgins

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For the baseball player, see Eddie Higgins (baseball).
Eddie Higgins
Birth nameHayden Higgins
Born(1932-02-21)February 21, 1932
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 31, 2009(2009-08-31) (aged 77)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, singer
Instrument(s)Piano, vocals
Years active1958–2009
LabelsAtlantic, Sunnyside

Edward Haydn Higgins (February 21, 1932 – August 31, 2009) was a jazz pianist, composer, and orchestrator.[1]

Biography

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 Northwestern University School of Music. An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic 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 flavor of each style, both as soloist and 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. 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 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-feeling without being superfluous. Such swing-feeling of Eddie Higgins was also often compared to those of 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, Portrait 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
1958 Ed Higgins Trio Replica
1960 Eddie Higgins
1965 Soulero Atlantic
1978 My Time of Day Spinnster
1978 Dream Dancing Claremont
1980 Sweet Lorraine EMI
1982 Once in a While Spinnster
1986 By Request Solo Art
1990 Those Quiet Days Sunnyside
1994 When Your Lover Has Gone Tokuma
1994 Zoot's Hymns Sunnyside
1995 In Chicago Solo Art
1996 Portrait in Black and White Sunnyside
1997 Haunted Heart Sunnyside
1999 Tribute to Jobim Venus
2000 Time on My Hands Arbors
2000 Speaking of Jobim Sunnyside
2000 Honk! Honk! Honk! Ace
2001 Bewitched Venus
2002 Don't Smoke in Bed Venus
2002 Again
2002 Speaking of Love
2002 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
2003 You Don't Know What Love Is Tokuma
2004 Moonlight Becomes You Tokuma
2004 My Foolish Heart Tokuma
2004 Dear Old Stockholm Tokuma
2004 Christmas Night Tokuma
2005 If Dreams Come True Venus
2005 Christmas Songs Sunnyside
2006 My Funny Valentine Tokuma
2006 Amor Venus
2007 It's Magic Tokuma
2007 A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening Tokuma
2007 Fine Romance Tokuma
2007 Relaxin' at the Lounge Venus
2008 I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me Tokuma
2008 Standard Higgins Tokuma
2008 Secret Love Tokuma
2008 Christmas Songs II Tokuma
2008 Ballad Higgins Tokuma
2009 You Are Too Beautiful Tokuma
2009 Handful of Stars Venus
2010 Portraits of Love Venus
2016 Tenderly


Source:[2]

As sideman

With Meredith d'Ambrosio

  • 1989 South to a Warmer Place
  • 1991 Love Is Not a Game
  • 1993 Shadowland
  • 1995 Beware of Spring!
  • 2001 Love Is for the Birds

With Wayne Shorter

With Lee Morgan

With Sonny Stitt

  • 2000 Sonny, Sweets, and Jaws: Live at Bubba's
  • 2001 No Greater Love
  • 2004 Just Friends: Live at Bubba's Jazz Restaurant 1981

With Warren Vaché

  • 1999 Mrs. Vache's Boys
  • 2007 Remember

With Chuck Hedges

  • 1992 No Greater Love
  • 2001 Just for Fun

With others

References

  1. ^ Allmusic biography
  2. ^ "Eddie Higgins | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Eddie Higgins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
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