Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album ''

Components Circuit Component may refer to: •Are devices that perform functions when they are connected in a circuit. In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems *System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assemb ...

'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bobby Hutcherson." ''AllMusic.'' Web. March 17, 2014. Hutcherson influenced younger vibraphonists including Steve Nelson, Joe Locke, and

Stefon Harris Stefon DeLeon Harris (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Biography A native of Albany, New York, Harris intended to work for the New York Philharmonic until he heard the music of Charlie Parker. During the 1990s he recorded ...

.Hamlin, Jesse.
Bobby Hutcherson Passionate about Music, Life
" ''SFGate.'' Hearst Communications, Inc., January 15, 2012. Web. March 17, 2014.Musto, Russ. "Steve Nelson: Vibing." ''All About Jazz.'' August 1, 2006. Web. May 23, 2014.Henderson, Alex. "Joe Locke , Biography." ''AllMusic.'' Web. February 27, 2014.Ross, David. "Bobby Hutcherson: Master of the Vibes." ''KALW.'' March 27, 2012. Web. March 17, 2014.

Biography

Early life and career

Bobby Hutcherson was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, to Eli, a master mason, and Esther, a hairdresser. Hutcherson was exposed to jazz by his brother Teddy, who listened to

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the ...

records in the family home with his friend Dexter Gordon. His older sister Peggy was a singer in Gerald Wilson's orchestra. Hutcherson went on to record on a number of Gerald Wilson's Pacific Jazz recordings as well as play in his orchestra. Hutcherson's sister personally introduced Hutcherson to

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ga ...

(her boyfriend at the time) and Billy Mitchell. Hutcherson was inspired to take up the vibraphone when at about the age of 12 he heard

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging so ...

with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

playing "

Bemsha Swing This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

" on the '' Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 2'' album (1954). Still in his teens, Hutcherson began his professional career in the late 1950s working with tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy and trumpeter Carmell Jones, as well as with Dolphy and tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd at Pandora's Box on the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverl ...

.Ouellette, Dan. "California Dreaming." ''DownBeat'' 80.4 (2013): 30–33. Print.Cuscuna, Michael. Liner notes. Hutcherson, Bobby. '' Patterns''. Blue Note, 1980. LP. He made his recording debut on August 3, 1960, cutting two songs for a 7-inch single with the

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in ...

trio for

Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...

(released in 1961), followed by the LP ''

Groovin' Blue ''Groovin' Blue'' is an album by saxophonist Curtis Amy and drummer Frank Butler recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 for the Pacific Jazz label.Frank Butler sextet on December 10 (also released by Pacific Jazz in 1961). In January 1962, Hutcherson joined the Billy Mitchell– Al Grey group for dates at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco and Birdland in New York City (opposite Art Blakey). After touring with the Mitchell–Grey group for a year, Hutcherson settled in New York City (on 165th street in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

) where he worked part-time as a taxi driver, before fully entering the jazz scene via his childhood friend, bassist Herbie Lewis."Pacific Jazz Records Discography: 1959–1960." ''Jazz Discography Project''. Ed. Nobuaki Togashi, Kohji Matsubayashi, and Masayuki Hatta. Web. February 16, 2014.

Blue Note Records

Lewis was working with

The Jazztet The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...

and hosted jam sessions at his apartment. After hearing Hutcherson play at one of Lewis' events, Jazztet and Jackie McLean band member Grachan Moncur III felt that Hutcherson would be a good fit for McLean's group, which led to Hutcherson's first recording for

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...

on April 30, 1963, McLean's ''

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Step ...

''. This was quickly followed by sessions for Blue Note with Moncur, Dolphy, Gordon, Andrew Hill, Tony Williams and Grant Green in 1963 and 1964, later followed by sessions with

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

, John Patton,

Duke Pearson Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record pro ...

and

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' ...

. In spite of the numerous

post-bop Post-bop is a genre of small-combo jazz that evolved in the early to mid 1960s in the United States. Pioneers of the genre, such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, crafted syntheses ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

, and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

recordings made during this period, Hutcherson's first session for Blue Note as leader, '' The Kicker'' (recorded in 1963 but not released until 1999), demonstrated his background in hard bop and the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, as did '' Idle Moments'' with Grant Green. Hutcherson won the "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" award in the 1964 '' Down Beat'' readers' poll, and Blue Note released Hutcherson's '' Dialogue'' in 1965.Tatum, Doug. "'99–2000: Off and Running." ''Jazz Ambassadors Magazine.'' Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, Inc., October 1999. Web. February 16, 2014. The 1966 record '' Stick-Up!'', featuring Joe Henderson, Herbie Lewis, and

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...

, was the first of many recorded sessions Hutcherson made with McCoy Tyner throughout their careers. ''Stick-Up!'' was also the only album out of ten Hutcherson recorded as leader for Blue Note between 1965 and 1969 which did not feature drummer Joe Chambers or any of Chambers' compositions. Spanning the years 1963 to 1977, Hutcherson had one of the longest recording careers with Blue Note, second only to Horace Silver's.

Return to the West Coast

Hutcherson lost his

cabaret card The New York City Cabaret Identification Card was a permit required of all workers, including performers, in nightclubs in New York City from Prohibition to 1967. Its administration was fraught with politics, and some artists' cards were revoked ...

and taxi driver's license in 1967 after he and Joe Chambers were arrested for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

possession in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, so he moved back to California, but continued to record for Blue Note. This return to the West Coast resulted in an important partnership with Harold Land, with whom Hutcherson recorded seven albums for Blue Note, featuring a rotating lineup of pianists such as Chick Corea, Stanley Cowell, and Joe Sample, and usually Chambers on drums. The Hutcherson-Land group broke up in 1971, and that same year Hutcherson won the title of "World's Best Vibist" in the International Jazz Critics Poll. After the release of '' Knucklebean'' in 1977, Hutcherson recorded three albums for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

in the late 1970s. Bobby Hutcherson

Land and Hutcherson reunited in the early 1980s for several recordings as the "Timeless All Stars," a sextet featuring

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 19 ...

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and co ...

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in the ...

, and

which recorded four albums for the Dutch label Timeless Records. After switching between several labels in the early 1980s for his solo material, Hutcherson recorded eight albums for Landmark Records from the 1980s into the early 1990s, and continued to work steadily as a sideman during this time. His recorded output slowed somewhat during the past few decades, although he did release albums for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and Verve in the 1990s, three for the Swiss-based label Kind of Blue in the 21st century, and continued to tour.

Later years

In 2004, Hutcherson became an inaugural member of the

SFJAZZ Collective The SFJAZZ Collective is an American jazz ensemble comprising nine performer/composers, launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ, a West Coast non-profit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. Collective activities The S ...

, featuring Joshua Redman, Miguel Zenón, Nicholas Payton, Renee Rosnes, and

Eric Harland Eric Harland (born November 8, 1976; in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz drummer. In addition to leading his own group, Harland is a member of Charles Lloyd's Quartet, Dave Holland's Prism, James Farm with Joshua Redman, and Taylor Eig ...

, among others. He toured with them for four years, and made an appearance at the SFJAZZ Center's grand opening in 2013. His 2007 quartet included Renee Rosnes on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and Al Foster on drums. His 2008 quartet included

Joe Gilman Joseph Alan Gilman (born June 27, 1962) is an American jazz pianist from Sacramento, California. He has taught at American River College and Sacramento State University in Sacramento and the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, California. Background G ...

on piano, Glenn Richman on bass and Eddie Marshall on drums. In 2010 he received the lifetime Jazz Master Fellowship Award from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and performed at Birdland in a quintet featuring Gilman, Burno, Marshall, and Peter Bernstein. 2014 saw Hutcherson return to Blue Note Records with ''Enjoy the View'', recorded at

Ocean Way Studios Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates recor ...

in Hollywood with Joey DeFrancesco, David Sanborn, and

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bio ...

. The quartet performed four sold-out shows at the SFJAZZ Center in February, prior to the album's release.Blue Note Records. BOBBY HUTCHERSON RETURNS TO BLUE NOTE WITH ALL-STAR COLLECTIVE FOR "ENJOY THE VIEW" ON 6/24. N.p., March 17, 2014. Web. March 17, 2014.

Acting career

Hutcherson's intermittent acting career included an appearance as the bandleader in '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1969), and as Ace in '' Round Midnight'' (1986)."Bobby Hutcherson." ''IMDb.'' Web. February 27, 2014.

Personal life

Hutcherson has a son, Barry, from his first marriage to Beth Buford. Hutcherson wrote the waltz "Little B's Poem" for Barry in 1962. Due to the success of "Ummh" from the album ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

'', one of Hutcherson's few entries in the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

style, he was able to buy an acre of land on which he built a house in

Montara, California Montara () is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2020 census. Nearby communities include Moss Beach and Princeton-by-the-Sea. Etymology According to historical sour ...

, in 1972. That same year, he married Rosemary Zuniga, a ticket taker at the Both/And club in San Francisco. The couple had a son, Teddy, who is a production manager for SFJAZZ. Hutcherson attended an

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

as a youth and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

later in life. A heavy smoker all his life, Hutcherson had suffered from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...

since 2007. He died from the condition in Montara, California, on August 15, 2016.

Style and critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

contributor Steve Huey stated that Hutcherson's "free-ringing, open chords and harmonically advanced solos were an important part of Dolphy's 1964 masterwork '' Out to Lunch!''", and called ''Dialogue'' a "classic of modernist post-bop", declaring Hutcherson "one of jazz's greatest vibraphonists". Huey went on to say: "along with

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

, the other seminal vibraphone talent of the '60s, Hutcherson helped modernize his instrument by redefining what could be done with it – sonically, technically, melodically, and emotionally. In the process, he became one of the defining (if underappreciated) voices in the so-called "new thing" portion of Blue Note's glorious '60s roster." In his liner notes to the 1980 release of ''

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

'', record producer Richard Seidel ( Verve, Sony Masterworks) wrote that "of all the vibists to appear on the scene contemporaneous with Hutcherson, none have been able to combine the rhythmic dexterity, emotive attack and versatile musical interests that Bobby possesses." Seidel concurred that Hutcherson was "part of the vanguard of the new jazz developments in the Sixties. He contributed mightily to several of the key sessions that document these developments."Seidel, Richard. Liner notes. Hutcherson, Bobby. ''

.'' Blue Note, 1980. LP. Interviewed by Jesse Hamlin for a piece on Hutcherson in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' in 2012, collaborator Joshua Redman said that "We talk a lot about how music expresses universal values, experiences and feelings. But you don't often witness that so clearly and so profoundly as you do with Bobby. His music expresses the joy of living. He connects to the source of what music is about." In an April 2013 profile for '' Down Beat'' magazine,

Dan Ouellette Dan Ouellette is an American artist, illustrator, director, author and production designer. He began drawing as a child inspired by Escher, Dalí and Moebius. His drawings usually begin with very rough sketches and are intended to capture a mome ...

wrote that "Hutcherson took the vibes to a new level of jazz sophistication with his harmonic inventions and his blurring-fast, four-mallet runs... Today, he's the standard bearer of the instrument and has a plenitude of emulators to prove it." Ouellette quoted Joey DeFrancesco as saying "Bobby is the greatest vibes player of all time.... Milt Jackson was ''the'' guy, but Bobby took it to the next level. It's like Milt was

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, and Bobby was John Coltrane."

Discography

References

External links

Complete discography, news and reviews
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutcherson, Bobby 1941 births 2016 deaths American jazz vibraphonists Musicians from Los Angeles Marimbists American jazz composers Timeless Records artists Atlantic Records artists Landmark Records artists Columbia Records artists Verve Records artists Blue Note Records artists Jazz musicians from California American taxi drivers African-American Catholics SFJAZZ Collective members Jazz vibraphonists