Great Pianist John Hicks has Passed
by jazzcat on May.12, 2006, under News
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December 21, 1942 – May 10, 2006
Funeral Arrangements
Viewing will be held Thursday, May 18, 2006 from 2-9pm at Saint Mark's
United Methodist Church located at 55 Edgecombe Avenue, New York City.
Homegoing service for Mr. Hicks will be held on Friday May 19, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. at Saint Mark's United Methodist Church.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by John H. Joyce Funeral
Directors located at 2332 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. New York, new
York 10030
Phone number is 212-690-3500.
Following the funeral services for Mr. Hicks, the family will have his
body shipped to Atlanta, Georgia to be buried at South View Cemetery in
the
family plot along with his parents, grandparents, and brother, Eldon.
Flowers can be sent to the funeral home.
Thank you
Obituary
By Chris King
Of the St. Louis American
Rich
Henderson, president of the local musical heritage organization
Crusaders for Jazz, had something in common with much of the jazz world
yesterday.
He had a difficult time speaking, even thinking.
On
Wednesday morning, May 10, 2006, the great jazz pianist John Hicks, who
spent his formative years in St. Louis, passed away in New York City.
He was 64.
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At press time, the cause of death was unknown.
Henderson
had received a call Tuesday night from Hicks’ daughter, Naima (who was
named for a John Coltrane composition), informing him that they were
rushing her father to St. Vincent’s Hospital. He was suffering from
internal bleeding.
“He was so thoughtful, such a beautiful
person,” Henderson said of Hicks, whom he first met at a long-forgotten
North Side lounge, El Patio, in the late ‘50s.
Henderson was struggling to speak.
“It just got to me.”
As Henderson remembered
his departed friend, who played St. Louis many times under the auspices
of Henderson’s organization, Hicks’ music was playing on WSIE. Ross
Gentile, who had received the sad news from Henderson that morning, was
dedicating his afternoon “Standards in Jazz” show to the legend we have
lost.
“I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with John and his lovely wife, Elise,” Gentile said.
“He
had such a passion for music. He was one of the most inspirational
pianists I have ever seen, and he had such a lovely personality. God,
he’s going to be missed.”
James Carter, a young saxophonist from
Detroit, had the privilege of touring with Hicks, both as a sideman and
leader, and Hicks played on Carter’s most recent studio effort,
Gardenias for Lady Day.
“He was a real cool cat, cracking jokes,
enjoying the ability to get with some musical comrades, confab and
jam,” Carter said, of touring with H
icks in Japan and on the West Coast.
“But when it came time to
hit, he had his professionalism. He was somebody you could definitely
get your groove with, on and offstage.”
Of Hicks’ playing,
Carter said, “There were certain nuances he could give you, very
soulful and economic – at times. When he got a good vibe going, his
fingers went a-flying and it would happen, a yippety yap!”
John
Josephus Hicks Jr. was born in Atlanta on December 21, 1941. He spent
his early childhood in Los Angeles. He began piano lessons with his
mother at age 6, and by the time his family moved to St. Louis when
John was 13, he was already playing for the choir and for Sunday School
at the church where his father was minister.
Visitors to the
senior Hicks’ church in St. Louis included Erroll Garner, Count Basie
and Duke Ellington. Hicks Sr. wrote a column for the St. Louis Argus.
In
Sumner High School, he became active in the band and choir, with
impressively musical scho
olmates including Phillip Wilson and Lester Bowie. He also woodshedded
locally with John Chapman, Sonny Hamp, Willie Akins and Johnny Mixon,
who he counted among his lifelong idols even though he came to perform
with luminaries.
Hicks
attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City and Berklee College of
Music in Boston before moving to New York in the early 1960's.
“In
New York, John sat with all the old masters,” Henderson said. “He went
to Bradley’s, where all the great players gathered, guys like Tommy
Flanagan, Hank Jones.”
Hicks launched into a career that would
see him take the piano with an astonishing range of leaders, from
bluesmen Little Milton and Albert King, to a jazz who’s who of our
time: Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Woody Herman,
Pharaoh Sanders, Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Freddie
Hubbard, Oliver Nelson, David Murray, Jay McShann, Oliver Lake, Lester
Bowie, Grant Green – the list could be extended.
His di
scography, as a leader and sideman, recording for Strata East, Theresa,
Limetree, DIW, Timeless, Red Baron, Concord, Evidence, Novus,
Reservoir, Mapleshade, Landmark and other labels, is equally vast and
rich.
“He was always nurturing, always looking ahead,” Carter said of Hicks’ playing.
“But
he was still a Rock of Gibraltar in terms of fundamentals, basics,
keeping the vibe, the musical conversation going, with the intent of
imparting musical knowledge. And, at the same time, not showboating.”
Henderson
said, “He paid tribute to everybody – Earl Garner, Billy Strayhorn,
Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines. He was always keeping alive a legacy.”
“He was so gracious in his lifetime, doing tribute to Sonny Clark, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey,” Gentile said.
“I hope musicians coming up take time do what he did and pay tribute to him.”
Henderson said Hicks is survived by his daughter, Naima Hicks of Atlanta; his wife, Elise Woods of New York; a son, Jamil Hic
ks; his ex-wife, Olympia George of Atlanta; and jazz musicians and listeners everywhere.
Henderson
said as recently as Sunday Hicks had performed at his father’s former
church, St. Mark’s in Harlem, a likely site for his final services.
