Foreststorn Hamilton was born on
September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles. His brother was the actor Bernie
Hamilton. The nickname “Chico” came from the fact that he was
small in stature. At Jefferson High School, he studied with jazz
teacher Sam Browne, where his classmates included Dexter Gordon,
Charles Mingus and Buddy Collette. His first gig came in 1940 with
Lionel Hampton's band, and he played with other swing bands such as
Count Basie and Charlie Barnet. After serving in World War II, he
worked as an accompanist to Lena Horne, and became immersed in the
laid back “cool jazz” sound of Southern California.
He was an original member of baritone
saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's pianoless quartet, which also featured
Chet Baker on trumpet. Here's a brief sample.
Given the opportunity to record by
Pacific Jazz, he formed a quintet in 1954 that consisted of Collette
on flute and alto sax, Fred Katz on cello, Jim Hall on guitar and
bassist Carson Smith. This is their 1956 version of “The Wind.”
Over the years, there were several
personnel changes. Musicians who played with Hamilton's quintet
included saxophonists Paul Horn, Eric Dolphy and Charles Lloyd, and
guitarists Gabor Szabo and Larry Coryell. This clip from the 1959
film Jazz on a Summer's Day was recorded at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and features Eric Dolphy
on the flute.
Although
it's now out-of-print, The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings
of the Chico Hamilton Quintet on
Mosaic is highly recommended. He also recorded for Impulse, Columbia
and Soul Note. When cool jazz lost favor in the '60s, Hamilton
switched to a more aggressive, hard bop style. Here is his 1966
recording, “The Dealer,” featuring Coryell.
After writing soundtracks for The
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
and Roman Polanski's Repulsion,
Hamilton began producing film and television music. He led various
groups through the '80s, and remained active until his death. He has
a CD scheduled for release in 2014. He spent two decades teaching at
the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. He
received the Jazz Master award from the National Endowment for the
Arts in 2004, and the Kennedy Center's Living Jazz Legend award in
2007. Here is an interview done in conjunction with the release of his 2009
CD, Twelve Tones of Love.
Marc Myers has posted a 3-part interview with Chico Hamilton focusing on his early years. Part 1 is
here, and you can follow the links to the rest.
You may also be interested in reading:
Frank Wess (1922-2013)
Johnny Smith (1922-2013)
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