Tag Archives: Billy Higgins

Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder

On July 21, 1964, “Blue Note” label released “The Sidewinder”, the 15th Lee Morgan album. It was recorded in December 1963, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lee Morgan – trumpet
  • Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
  • Barry Harris – piano
  • Bob Cranshaw – double bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording

Track listing:

All tracks by Lee Morgan.

  1. The Sidewinder
  2. Totem Pole
  3. Gary’s Notebook
  4. Boy, What a Night
  5. Hocus-Pocus

Cedar Walton / Hank Mobley Quintet: Breakthrough!

In April 1972, “Cobblestone” label released “Breakthrough!”, album by the Cedar Walton/Hank Mobley Quintet. It was recorded in February 1972, at “Bell Sound” in New York City, and was produced by Don Schlitten.

Personnel:

  • Hank Mobley — tenor saxophone
  • Cedar Walton — piano, electric piano
  • Charles Davis – soprano and baritone saxophone
  • Sam Jones — double bass
  • Billy Higgins — drums

Track listing:

  1. Breakthrough – Hank Mobley
  2. Sabiá – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque
  3. House on Maple Street – Cedar Walton
  4. (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story – Francis Lai, Carl Sigman
  5. Summertime – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward
  6. 18th Hole – Hank Mobley

Hank Mobley: Reach Out!

In November 1968, “Blue Note” label released “Reach Out!”, the 20th Hank Mobley album. It was recorded in January 1968, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Francis Wolff.

Personnel:

  • Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
  • Woody Shaw – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • LaMont Johnson – piano
  • George Benson – guitar
  • Bob Cranshaw – bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums

Track listing:

All tracks by Hank Mobley except where noted.

  1. Reach Out (I’ll Be There) – Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland
  2. Up, Over and Out
  3. Lookin’ East
  4. Goin’ Out of My Head – Teddy Randazzo, Bob Weinstein
  5. Good Pickin’s
  6. Beverly – LaMont Johnson

Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation

In September 1961, “Atlantic” label released “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, the sixth Ornette Coleman album. It was recorded in December 1960, at “A&R Studios” in New York City, and was produced by Nesuhi Ertegün.

Personnel:

  • Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
  • Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
  • Don Cherry – pocket trumpet
  • Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet
  • Charlie Haden – bass
  • Scott LaFaro – double bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Ed Blackwell – drums
  • Tom Dowd – recording

Track listing:

All tracks by Ornette Coleman.

  1. Free Jazz (Part One)
  2. Free Jazz (Part Two)

Sam Jones: Something In Common

On September 13, 1977, “Muse” label released “Something in Common” the eighth Sam Jones album. It was recorded April 1974 – September 1977, at “C.I. Recording Studios” in New York City, and was produced by Cedar Walton and Bob Porter.

Personnel:

  • Sam Jones – bass
  • Bob Berg – tenor saxophone
  • Blue Mitchell – trumpet
  • Slide Hampton – trombone
  • Cedar Walton – keyboards, piano
  • Louis Hayes – drums
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Thomas Hampson – engineer
  • Chuck Irwin – engineer
  • Gene Paul – mastering
  • Page Simon – design
  • Tom Copi – photography
  • Todd Barkan – liner notes
  • Dan Mueller – production coordination

Track listing:

All tracks by Cedar Walton, except where noted.

  1. Seven Minds – Sam Jones
  2. Bolivia
  3. Something in Common
  4. Every Man Is a King – Slide Hampton
  5. For All We Know – J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis
  6. Blue Silver – Blue Mitchell
  7. Shoulders
  8. One for Amos – Sam Jones
  9. You Are the Sunshine of My Life – Stevie Wonder

Ornette Coleman: Something Else!!!

In September 1958, “Contemporary” label released “Something Else!!!!”, (subtitled The Music of Ornette Coleman), the debut Ornette Coleman album. It was recorded in February 1958, and was produced by Lester Koenig.

Personnel:

  • Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
  • Don Cherry – cornet
  • Walter Norris – piano
  • Don Payne – double bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Roy DuNann – engineer
  • Nat Hentoff – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Ornette Coleman.

  1. Invisible
  2. The Blessing
  3. Jayne
  4. Chippie
  5. The Disguise
  6. Angel Voice
  7. Alpha
  8. When Will the Blues Leave?
  9. The Sphinx

Ran Blake: Ran Blake Plays Solo Piano

On May 1, 1965, “ESP-Disk” label released “Ran Blake Plays Solo Piano”, the second Ran Blake album. It was recorded in May 1965, at “Bell Sound Studios” in New York City.

Personnel:

  • Ran Blake – piano
  • Art Crist – engineer
  • Paul Frick – art direction
  • Saul Stollman – design
  • George Klabin – photography
  • Gunther Schuller – liner notes
  • Bob Marius – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. Vanguard – Ran Blake
  2. Stratusphunk – George Russell
  3. Sleepy Time Gal – Ange Lorenzo, Joseph Alden, Raymond Egan, Richard Whiting
  4. On Green Dolphin Street – Bronislav Kaper, Ned Washington
  5. Eric – Ran Blake
  6. There’ll Be Some Changes Made – Billy Higgins, W. Benton Overstreet
  7. Good Morning Heartache – Dan Fisher, Ervin Drake, Irene Higginbotham
  8. Sister Tee – Ran Blake
  9. Lonely Woman – Ornette Coleman
  10. Birmingham U.S.A. – Ran Blake

Ornette Coleman: Science Fiction

In February 1972, “Columbia” label released “Science Fiction”, the 13th Ornette Coleman album. It was recorded September – October 1971, at “Columbia Studio E” in New York City and was produced by James Jordan.

Personnel:

  • Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone, trumpet, violin
  • Dewey Redman – tenor saxophone, musette
  • Don Cherry – pocket trumpet
  • Bobby Bradford, Carmine Fornarotto, Gerard Schwarz – trumpet
  • Charlie Haden – bass
  • Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell – drums
  • David Henderson – recitation
  • Asha Puthli – vocals
  • Stan Tonkel – engineer
  • Russ Payne – mixing
  • Ed Lee – cover design
  • Robert Amft – cover photography
  • Bob Palmer – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Ornette Coleman.

  1. What Reason Could I Give?
  2. Civilization Day
  3. Street Woman
  4. Science Fiction
  5. Rock the Clock
  6. All My Life
  7. Law Years
  8. The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

Dexter Gordon: Go

In December 1962, “Blue Note” label released “Go!” the 18th Dexter Gordon album. It was recorded in August 1962, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion. In 2019, “Go!” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the “National Recording Registry” for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Personnel:

  • Dexter Gordon – tenor saxophone
  • Sonny Clark – piano
  • Butch Warren – bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Reid Miles – design
  • Francis Wolff – photography
  • Ira Gitler – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. Cheese Cake – Dexter Gordon
  2. I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry – Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
  3. Second Balcony Jump – Billy Eckstine, Gerald Valentine
  4. Love for Sale – Cole Porter
  5. Where Are You – Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson
  6. Three O’clock in the Morning – Julian Robledo, Dorothy Terriss

Dexter Gordon: A Swingin’ Affair

In October 1964, “Blue Note” label released “A Swingin’ Affair”, the 19th Dexter Gordon album. It was recorded in August 1962, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Dexter Gordon – tenor saxophone
  • Sonny Clark – piano
  • Butch Warren – bass
  • Billy Higgins – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording
  • Reid Mils – design
  • Francis Wolff – photography
  • Barbara Long – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. Soy Califa – Dexter Gordon
  2. Don’t Explain – Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday
  3. You Stepped Out of a Dream – Nacio Brown, Gus Kahn
  4. The Backbone – Butch Warren
  5. Until the Real Thing Comes Along – Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin, L.E. Freeman, Mann Holiner, Alberta Nichols
  6. McSplivens – Dexter Gordon