Lonnie Hillyer (March 25, 1940 in

Monroe, Georgia Monroe is a city and the county seat of Walton County, Georgia, Walton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is located both one hour east of Atlanta via U.S. Route 78 in Georgia, US 78 and Georgia State Route 138, GA 138 to I ...

– July 1, 1985 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter, strongly influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and other bebop legends of that era. Lonnie Hillyer moved with his family to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

at age three, and began studying music at 14 under

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Influenced by Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, Harris in turn influenc ...

. In 1960, he moved to

, where he played with

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

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, and

Clifford Jarvis Clifford Osbourne Jarvis (August 26, 1941 – November 26, 1999) was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer, who in the 1980s moved to London, England, where he spent the remainder of his career. Biography Clifford Jarvis, the son of Malc ...

. Lonnie Hillyer's association with Mingus lasted more than a decade, performing on records such as "My Favorite Quintet" and "Let My Children Hear Music". In 1966, Lonnie Hillyer and Charles McPherson formed a quintet performed together during the years following. McPherson also grew up with Hillyer in Detroit. Around 1983 he and (former Monk tenor saxophonist) Charles Rouse formed a jazz quintet ("Bebop Quintessence"), with (drummer) Leroy Williams, (pianist) Hugh Lawson and (bassist) Ben Brown. Hillyer performed live with many musicians including

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

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 1 ...

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American Jazz drumming, jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio stat ...

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo, was an American Latin jazz percussionist and jazz drummer of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Latino m ...

, Walter Davis, Jr.,

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist and songwriter. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering dee ...

, and many others. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in July 1985. His son, Lonnie D. Hillyer, is a rock bassist (J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz, Maggie's Dream, Billy Joel, Gordon Gano, Bernie Worrell, Andrea Álvarez).

Discography

As sideman

With

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

*''Candid Dolphy'' (Candid, 1960) With

*'' Newer Than New'' (Riverside, 1961) With

*'' Cry! - Tender'' (New Jazz, 1959) With Charles McPherson *''

The Quintet/Live! ''The Quintet/Live!'' is a live album led by saxophonist Charles McPherson recorded in 1966 at the Five Spot Café and released on the Prestige label.Fitzgerald, MJazzdiscography: Charles McPherson Leader Entryaccessed May 15, 2018 The album was ...

'' (Prestige, 1966) *'' Charles McPherson'' (Mainstream, 1971) With

*'' Reincarnation of a Lovebird'' (Candid, 1960) *'' The Complete Town Hall Concert'' (Blue Note, 1962

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

*'' Mingus at Monterey'' (Jazz Workshop, 1964) *'' My Favorite Quintet'' (Jazz Workshop, 1965) *'' Music Written for Monterey 1965'' (Jazz Workshop, 1965) *'' Let My Children Hear Music'' (Columbia, 1971) *'' Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert'' (Columbia, 1972) With

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

*''Oh Pharoah Speak - The Latin Jazz Quintet-Oh!'' (1965)

References

''New York Times'' Obituary
1940 births 1985 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Bebop trumpeters Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Monroe, Georgia 20th-century American trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-trumpeter-stub