Biography
Although Frank Hewitt never achieved widespread recognition within jazz circles, the late acoustic pianist possessed considerable talent as a hard-swinging improviser whose career kept him deeply immersed in the New York City jazz community for decades. Hard bop remained his chosen idiom, shaped chiefly by pianists who rose to prominence during the 1940s and 1950s, among them Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope and Bill Evans, whose early bop-focused work, rather than later modal explorations, left the strongest mark. Avant-garde, crossover and fusion styles held no appeal for him; instead, listeners who encountered his performances across the city routinely likened his straight-ahead approach to that of Barry Harris, Sonny Clark, Hampton Hawes, Tommy Flanagan and Phineas Newborn Jr.
Born in the Queens borough of New York City on October 23, 1935, Hewitt spent his formative years in Harlem, the neighborhood long synonymous with jazz. His mother, a church pianist, urged him toward the instrument in childhood, and his initial studies centered on gospel and classical repertoire. Exposure to Charlie Parker’s recording of “Dewey Square” during his teenage years ignited a decisive turn toward jazz, leading him, by the mid-1950s, to appear regularly in New York clubs where he encountered figures such as trumpeter Howard McGhee and baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne. He maintained a steady presence on the local scene through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, frequently appearing at Small’s Café in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, yet he never secured an opportunity to document any studio sessions as a leader across those four decades.
His first recording date as leader finally occurred in May and June 2001, when producer Luke Kaven assembled a trio featuring Ari Roland on upright bass and either Jimmy Lovelace or Danny Rosenfeld on drums. Hewitt did not survive to witness the release of those performances; he succumbed to cancer-related complications on September 5, 2002, at the age of 66. Eight selections from the 2001 sessions appeared posthumously in early 2004 as the 68-minute album We Loved You on Kaven’s Small’s Records imprint, named after the Greenwich Village club. Kaven subsequently indicated that additional Hewitt material remained in the archive and would be issued at a later date.
Born in the Queens borough of New York City on October 23, 1935, Hewitt spent his formative years in Harlem, the neighborhood long synonymous with jazz. His mother, a church pianist, urged him toward the instrument in childhood, and his initial studies centered on gospel and classical repertoire. Exposure to Charlie Parker’s recording of “Dewey Square” during his teenage years ignited a decisive turn toward jazz, leading him, by the mid-1950s, to appear regularly in New York clubs where he encountered figures such as trumpeter Howard McGhee and baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne. He maintained a steady presence on the local scene through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, frequently appearing at Small’s Café in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, yet he never secured an opportunity to document any studio sessions as a leader across those four decades.
His first recording date as leader finally occurred in May and June 2001, when producer Luke Kaven assembled a trio featuring Ari Roland on upright bass and either Jimmy Lovelace or Danny Rosenfeld on drums. Hewitt did not survive to witness the release of those performances; he succumbed to cancer-related complications on September 5, 2002, at the age of 66. Eight selections from the 2001 sessions appeared posthumously in early 2004 as the 68-minute album We Loved You on Kaven’s Small’s Records imprint, named after the Greenwich Village club. Kaven subsequently indicated that additional Hewitt material remained in the archive and would be issued at a later date.
Albums
