Bobby Timmons

Bobby Timmons gained such widespread recognition for the gospel-tinged and funky blues formulas threading his improvisations and original pieces that his command of Bud Powell–style bebop has faded from memory. Emerging from Philadelphia’s jazz community, he spent time with Kenny Dorham in 1956, then with Chet Baker, Sonny Stitt, and the Maynard Ferguson Big Band. His contributions helped drive the popular appeal of both Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet. While with Blakey from 1958 to 1959, Timmons composed the enduring “Moanin’.” After moving to Adderley’s group in 1959, his composition “This Here,” later known as “Dat Dere,” scored a major success, so Adderley felt particular disappointment when Timmons chose to rejoin the Jazz Messengers in 1960. The piece gained further traction once Oscar Brown, Jr. supplied lyrics that vividly portrayed his inquisitive child. Already active as a Riverside leader, Timmons soon assembled his own trio yet never matched the commercial achievements of his previous employers. Though pigeonholed as a funky pianist—an approach that nonetheless shaped players such as Les McCann, Ramsey Lewis, and, years afterward, Benny Green—his career slipped into steady decline. He remained active until his death at thirty-eight from cirrhosis of the liver.