Biography
Alex Hill figured prominently in the supporting cast around the outsized pianist and singer Fats Waller. Although Hill maintained an independent path by directing his own ensembles in a buoyant approach akin to Waller’s, his strongest recognition stems from his multifaceted work as composer, orchestrator, and house pianist for firms that furnished material to leading blues and jazz artists.
Waller reached the upper ranks of those publishers’ catalogs after being recruited by the enterprising Joe Davis from a department-store demonstration post. During the late 1920s, Waller’s collaborators on a string of inventive hits included Hill along with Andy Razaf and J.C. Johnson. The three writers shifted among various combinations, making it difficult to separate one hand from another. Hill supplied “Shake Your Ashes” in 1932; five years later Razaf and Paul Denniker produced “Shake Your Can.” Hill’s catalog itself forms a substantial body of work, an image that would become literal if stacks of his period song folios were heaped together. Such volume demanded rapid composition, as when Hill and Razaf turned out “A Glutton for Love,” “Lumber Jack,” “My Only One,” and “Papa Ain’t No Santa Claus” in the time a Tin Pan Alley messenger needed to fetch a picnic basket.
Hill first drew publishers’ notice through his own performances. He began leading a band in 1924, an outfit that toured and held extended engagements in Hollywood and Chicago. He also played in Jimmie Noone’s rhythm section in the latter city. Early in 1930 Hill worked at New York’s Savoy Ballroom in Sammy Stewart’s band. As a songwriter and arranger he later moved from Joe Davis’s Triangle firm to a staff position with the major publisher Irving Mills. His collaborations with Waller encompass “Be Modern,” “Thanks to You,” and “Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Hill likewise arranged for Paul Howard’s Quality Serenaders and other groups.
Waller reached the upper ranks of those publishers’ catalogs after being recruited by the enterprising Joe Davis from a department-store demonstration post. During the late 1920s, Waller’s collaborators on a string of inventive hits included Hill along with Andy Razaf and J.C. Johnson. The three writers shifted among various combinations, making it difficult to separate one hand from another. Hill supplied “Shake Your Ashes” in 1932; five years later Razaf and Paul Denniker produced “Shake Your Can.” Hill’s catalog itself forms a substantial body of work, an image that would become literal if stacks of his period song folios were heaped together. Such volume demanded rapid composition, as when Hill and Razaf turned out “A Glutton for Love,” “Lumber Jack,” “My Only One,” and “Papa Ain’t No Santa Claus” in the time a Tin Pan Alley messenger needed to fetch a picnic basket.
Hill first drew publishers’ notice through his own performances. He began leading a band in 1924, an outfit that toured and held extended engagements in Hollywood and Chicago. He also played in Jimmie Noone’s rhythm section in the latter city. Early in 1930 Hill worked at New York’s Savoy Ballroom in Sammy Stewart’s band. As a songwriter and arranger he later moved from Joe Davis’s Triangle firm to a staff position with the major publisher Irving Mills. His collaborations with Waller encompass “Be Modern,” “Thanks to You,” and “Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Hill likewise arranged for Paul Howard’s Quality Serenaders and other groups.
Albums
Singles
