Earl Hines

Once hailed as "the first modern jazz pianist," Earl Hines stood apart from the stride players of the 1920s through his left hand's irregular accents that fractured conventional rhythms. His right hand typically produced octaves that projected sharply above ensemble textures, yet it was the left that displayed the most daring agility, freely interrupting the pulse while never abandoning the underlying beat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists in jazz history, Hines exerted considerable influence on Teddy Wilson, Jess Stacy, Joe Sullivan, Nat King Cole, and, to a degree, Art Tatum. He also wrote a number of underappreciated originals, among them "Rosetta," "My Monday Date," and "You Can Depend on Me."

Earl Hines began his musical life on trumpet as a youngster before turning to the piano. His earliest prominent engagement came as accompanist to vocalist Lois Deppe, with whom he cut his first sides in 1922 alongside Deppe's orchestra. The next year he relocated to Chicago, performing there with Sammy Stewart as well as Erskine Tate's Vendome Theatre Orchestra. From 1926 onward he forged a close partnership with Louis Armstrong, the two musicians continually spurring each other to greater heights. Hines spent a short period in Armstrong's large ensemble, previously directed by Carroll Dickerson, and the pair made an unsuccessful attempt to operate their own nightclub.

Nineteen twenty-eight marked a pivotal chapter for Hines. That year he laid down his initial ten unaccompanied piano recordings, among them "A Monday Date," "Blues in Thirds," and "57 Varieties." Much of the year was spent with Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, whose discs remain landmarks. He also produced striking, forward-looking sides with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five, including the enduring classics "West End Blues," "Fireworks," "Basin Street Blues," and the trumpet-piano duet "Weather Bird." On his birthday, December 28, he launched his own big band at Chicago's Grand Terrace.

A commanding ensemble musician and soloist alike, Earl Hines fronted large orchestras for the following two decades. Notable sidemen during the 1930s included trumpeter and vocalist Walter Fuller, Ray Nance on trumpet and violin before he joined Duke Ellington, trombonist Trummy Young, tenor saxophonist Budd Johnson, reed players Omer Simeon and Darnell Howard, and arranger Jimmy Mundy. Billy Eckstine became the band's featured vocalist in 1940. In 1943, amid the musicians' recording ban, Hines brought aboard forward-looking talents such as Charlie Parker on tenor, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and vocalist Sarah Vaughan, forming what is considered the first bebop orchestra. Once the strike concluded, Eckstine, Parker, Gillespie, and Vaughan had departed, yet tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray remained to feature prominently with the group in 1945 and 1946.

Economic pressures compelled Hines to disband his orchestra in 1948. He joined the Louis Armstrong All-Stars, though three years of serving as a supporting player to his longtime colleague proved trying. After parting from Armstrong in 1951, Hines settled first in Los Angeles and later San Francisco, where he led a Dixieland group that stayed active throughout the 1950s and occasionally featured Muggsy Spanier, Jimmy Archey, and Darnell Howard. Occasional recording dates occurred, but by the early 1960s Hines had largely faded from jazz awareness. In 1964, writer Stanley Dance organized three concerts at New York's Little Theater, presenting Hines both solo and in a quartet alongside Budd Johnson. Critics in New York marveled at the pianist's undiminished invention and energy, launching a resurgence that continued until the end of his life. Hines toured internationally with his quartet, issued dozens of albums, and enjoyed widespread acclaim right up to his death at age 79.