Billy Higgins


Billy Higgins 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, beginning in 1958. He then freelanced extensively with hard bop and other post-bop players, including Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Don Cherry, Paul Horn, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records and played on dozens of Blue Note albums of the 1960s. He also collaborated with composer La Monte Young and guitarist Sandy Bull.
In his career, Higgins played on more than 700 recordings, including recordings of rock and funk. He appeared as a jazz drummer in the 1986 movie Round Midnight and the 2001 movie Southlander.
In 1989, Higgins cofounded a cultural center, The World Stage, in Los Angeles to encourage and promote younger jazz musicians. The center provides workshops in performance and writing, as well as concerts and recordings. Higgins also taught in the jazz studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Billy Higgins died of kidney and liver failure on May 3, 2001, at a hospital in Inglewood, California.

Discography

As leader

As a sideman

With Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt

God Bless Jug and Sonny

With Chris Anderson

With Gary Bartz

With Paul Bley

Live at the Hilcrest Club 1958

With Sandy Bull

Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo

With Jaki Byard

With Donald Byrd

Royal Flush Free Form Blackjack

With Joe Castro

With Don Cherry

Brown Rice

With Sonny Clark

With George Coleman

With Ornette Coleman

Something Else!!!! The Shape of Jazz to Come Change of the Century The Art of the Improvisers To Whom Who Keeps a Record Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation Twins Science Fiction Broken Shadows The Complete Science Fiction Sessions

With John Coltrane

With Junior Cook

With Bill Cosby

  • ''Hello, Friend: To Ennis with Love''

With Stanley Cowell

With Ray Drummond

  • ''The Essence''

With Teddy Edwards

With Booker Ervin

With Art Farmer

Homecoming Yesterday's Thoughts To Duke with Love The Summer Knows

With Curtis Fuller

With Stan Getz

Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet with Cal Tjader

With Dexter Gordon

Go A Swingin' Affair Clubhouse Gettin' Around Tangerine Generation Something Different Bouncin' with Dex

With Grant Green

First Session Goin' West

With Dodo Greene

With Charlie Haden

Quartet West Silence The Private Collection

With Slide Hampton

With Herbie Hancock

Takin' Off

With [Roy Hargrove]

With Barry Harris

With [Eddie Harris]

The In Sound Mean Greens The Tender Storm Excursions

With Johnny Hartman

With Jimmy Heath

Love and Understanding The Time and the Place

With Joe Henderson

With Andrew Hill

With Christopher Hollyday

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Paul Horn

With Toninho Horta

With Freddie Hubbard

With Bobby Hutcherson

Stick-Up Solo / Quartet Farewell Keystone

With J. J. Johnson

With Hank Jones and Dave Holland

With Sam Jones

Seven Minds Cello Again

With Clifford Jordan

Soul Fountain Glass Bead Games Night of the Mark VII On Stage Vol. 1 On Stage Vol. 2 On Stage Vol. 3 Firm Roots

With Fred Katz

With Steve Lacy

Evidence with Don Cherry

With Charles Lloyd

Acoustic Masters I Voice in the Night The Water Is Wide Hyperion with Higgins

With Pat Martino

The Visit! also released as ''Footprints''

With Jackie McLean

A Fickle Sonance Let Freedom Ring Blue Note, 1962)Vertigo Action Action Action Consequence

With Charles McPherson

The Quintet/Live! Horizons

With Pat Metheny

With Blue Mitchell

With Red Mitchell

With Hank Mobley

The Turnaround Dippin' A Caddy for Daddy A Slice of the Top Hi Voltage Third Season Far Away Lands Reach Out! Breakthrough! with Cedar Walton

With Thelonious Monk

With Buddy Montgomery

;With Tete Montoliu

With Frank Morgan

With Lee Morgan

The Sidewinder Search for the New Land The Rumproller The Gigolo Cornbread Infinity Delightfulee Charisma The Rajah Sonic Boom The Sixth Sense The Procrastinator Taru

With Bheki Mseleku

  • ''Star Seeding''

With David Murray

Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1

With Horace Parlan

With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

Jaywalkin' Double Bass with Sam Jones

With Art Pepper

With Dave Pike

It's Time for Dave Pike

With Jimmy Raney

With Sonny Red

With Freddie Redd

With Joshua Redman

With Red Rodney

With Sonny Rollins

Our Man in Jazz

With Charlie Rouse

With Hilton Ruiz

With Pharoah Sanders

With Rob Schneiderman

With John Scofield

With Shirley Scott

With Archie Shepp

With Sonny Simmons

With James Spaulding

With Robert Stewart

  • Judgement
  • ''The Movement''

With Sonny Stitt

With Idrees Sulieman

With Ira Sullivan

With Sun Ra

Somewhere Else

With Cecil Taylor

Jumpin' Punkins

With Lucky Thompson

With the Timeless All Stars

With Bobby Timmons

Soul Food

With Charles Tolliver

With Stanley Turrentine

With Mal Waldron

Up Popped the Devil Like Old Times

With Cedar Walton

Cedar! Eastern Rebellion with George Coleman & Sam JonesThe Pentagon Eastern Rebellion 2 with Bob Berg & Sam JonesFirst Set Second Set Third Set Eastern Rebellion 3 with Curtis Fuller, Bob Berg & Sam JonesThe Maestro Among Friends Eastern Rebellion 4 with Curtis Fuller, Bob Berg, Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros & David WilliamsCedar's Blues The Trio 1 The Trio 2 The Trio 3 Cedar Walton Bluesville Time Cedar Walton Plays

With Don Wilkerson

The Texas Twister

With David Williams

With Jack Wilson