Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

's " Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn,

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

, and

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ev ...

, among others.

Biography

Hart was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up in close proximity of the Spotlite Club, where he first heard the music of Lee Morgan, Ahmad Jamal, 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 musi ...

, among others. Early on in his career he performed with

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

and Sam and Dave, then with Buck Hill. Although he studied mechanical engineering at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, he left school early to tour with Shirley Horn, whom Hart credits with accelerating his musical development. He was a sideman with the Montgomery Brothers (1961), Jimmy Smith (1964–1966), and

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

(1966–68). Following Montgomery's death in 1968, Hart moved to New York City, where he recorded with McCoy Tyner,

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

, Joe Zawinul, and Pharoah Sanders (playing on his famed recording ''Karma'' in 1969), in addition to playing with

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

, Joanne Brackeen, and Marian McPartland. Hart was a member of

's "Mwandishi" sextet from 1969 to 1973, recording three albums with Hancock ('' Mwandishi'', ''Crossings'', and ''Sextant'') in this period. He subsequently went on to perform with Tyner (1973–74),

(1974–77), and

(1980s), in addition to extensive freelance playing (including recording with

on 1972's '' On the Corner''). He recorded his debut album ''

Enchance ''Enchance'' is an album by American jazz drummer Billy Hart recorded in 1977 and released on the Horizon label.Don Pullen, Dave Holland, and Dewey Redman. Holland returned to play on Hart’s third release '' Oshumare'' in 1984, which also featured Branford Marsalis and

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of context ...

, among others. Since the early 1990s, Hart has been associated with Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He also teaches at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

, as well as holding an adjunct faculty position at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

. He also conducts private lessons through the New School and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. The drummer often contributes to the Stokes Forest Music Camp and the Dworp Summer Jazz Clinic in Belgium. Hart first formed his current Quartet (composed of Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, and

Ben Street Ben Street is an American jazz double bassist. Street has performed and recorded with many renowned artists, including John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Ben Monder, Michael Eckroth, Sam Rivers, Billy Hart, Danilo Perez, Aaron ...

) in 2003; they have gone on to record three albums as a group, most recently for ECM Records. He also performs with guitarist

Assaf Kehati Assaf Kehati (Hebrew: אסף קהתי) (born October 21, 1979) is an Israeli jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator based in New York, New York. Education Kehati first started playing the piano and guitar at the age of ten and later fo ...

, and is a member of the band known as the Cookers, typically consisting of Eddie Henderson, David Weiss, Craig Handy (now Billy Harper),

George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Ar ...

, and Cecil McBee. The band has toured extensively and has recorded six albums together. In 2021, Hart was announced as a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master, along Stanley Clarke,

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed ...

, and

Donald Harrison, Jr. Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Coll ...

Hart resides in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New Yor ...

, where he has a music studio described by '' JazzTimes'' as his "inner sanctum".Seidel, Mitchell
"Billy Hart"
'' JazzTimes'', April 25, 2019. Accessed January 11, 2021. "The inner sanctum of Billy Hart’s Montclair, N.J. home is a basement music studio that serves as a combination listening room, recreation room and classroom for visiting music students.... Billy Hart’s home looks like most others off Montclair’s main street of Bloomfield Avenue, a multistory, circa-1920s wood-frame structure with a small front yard and a narrow driveway on the side, except for the exterior color scheme of lavender and purple, which seems to scream 'alternative lifestyle' and makes the house leap out from the rest of the block."

Discography

As leader

* ''

Enchance ''Enchance'' is an album by American jazz drummer Billy Hart recorded in 1977 and released on the Horizon label.Oshumare'' (Gramavision, 1984) * '' Rah'' (Gramavision, 1988) * '' Amethyst''(Arabesque, 1993) * '' Oceans of Time'' (Arabesque, 1997) * ''

Billy Hart Quartet ''Billy Hart Quartet'' is an album by American jazz drummer Billy Hart recorded in 2005 and released on the HighNote label.Lyles, RMark Turner Discography accessed May 7, 2019 Reception AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars with its review by Ken ...

'' (

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Hi ...

, 2006) * ''Route F'' (Enja, 2006) * ''Live at the Cafe Damberd'' (Enja, 2009) * '' Sixty-Eight'' ( SteepleChase, 2011) * '' All Our Reasons'' (ECM, 2012) * ''

One Is the Other ''One Is the Other'' is an album by the Billy Hart Quartet recorded in April and May 2013 and released on ECM March the following year. The quartet features saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street.

References

External links

Official site

Interview by Ethan Iverson
* Billy Hartat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Billy Hart Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Billy 1940 births Living people Musicians from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians American jazz drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians New England Conservatory faculty Catalyst (band) members Mingus Dynasty (band) members Quest (band) members The Jazztet members The Leaders members Arabesque Records artists ECM Records artists Enja Records artists Gramavision Records artists HighNote Records artists SteepleChase Records artists NoBusiness Records artists People from Montclair, New Jersey