Great Day In Hollywood
Mar 20 '01
The Bottom Line BIlly Higgins is the greatest.
And, let me tell ya, they aren't all great. But Sunday, March 18, 2001 was. From 2 to 11 pm at the American Federation of Musicans Hall on Vine St. in Hollywood, some of the greatest musicians in Los Angeles and, hence, the world got together to do a benefit for drum legend and local treasure Billy Higgins, and I was lucky enough to witness it.
For those of you who don't know, Billy Higgins is, by any reasonable standard, one of the top five or ten drummers in the entire history of Jazz. He has recorded and/or performed live with almost everyone who is anyone, notably including Ornette Coleman,Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. So when he recently became ill and it was determined that he would need a liver transplant, there was a tremendous outpouring of support from the Jazz community. There was a stellar benefit at Yoshi's in Oakland a week earlier featuring frequent Higgins companions Pharoah Sanders, Charles Lloyd, Bobby Hutcherson and a few others.
But LA is Billy's hometown, and LA was not about to be upstaged by a club up north. Last Sunday's gathering was an All-Star event, featuring such luminaries as Herbie Hancock with Hubert Laws, Teddy Edwards and a seventeen piece orchestra, Larance Marable with Kenny Burrell, Art Hillary and Barbara Morrison, Benny Maupin with Richard Reid, Bobby Rodriguez and N'dugu Chanceler, Charles McPherson with his son and Harold Land, Jr., David Ornette Cherry's Organic Groove, and several other arists, groups and permutations thereof
The list of musicians in the crowd was equally as spectacular as those who made it on the stage. I saw Buddy Collette, Benny Carter and Ray Brown, and a friend of mine saw Horace Silver. Charlie Haden, who played with Billy and (David Ornette's father) Don Cherry in the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet did not play the bass, but did give a touching testimonial about Billy as a great musician and even greater human being. Kareem Abdul Jabbar was in attendance and also spoke.
I can't even begin to recount the day's proceedings, so I will just give you a few highlights as I remember them. The show was kicked off by the All Los Angeles High School Jazz band, and those kids could play. They did a good version of John Coltrane's Alabama in their outstanding set. Charles McPherson's entire set was great, capped by a rousing version of Body and Soul. David Ornette Cherry's group, featuring Roberto Miranda on Bass and Don Littleton on drums was outstanding, they did a great original and a towering cover of Ornette's great Lonely Woman. Hancock & Laws played a stellar set, capped by a nice take on the great Bill Evans compositon "All Blues" and the Teddy Edwards Big Band was mind-blowing. Poet Kamaau Daood offered up some great Jazz poetry as well.
A great experience. From the Old Guard to the young musicians of tomorrow, all under one roof. And all to help out Billy Higgins, one of LA's own. They say there is no community in LA--don't believe it, not when it comes to Jazz.
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Member: Edward Kane
Location: Long Beach, CA
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