Jimmy Hamilton

Jimmy Hamilton spent decades as a core member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, where his cool, vibrato-free timbre and forward-looking approach—shaped in part by bebop—initially unsettled audiences accustomed to Barney Bigard's warmer New Orleans phrasing, though his exceptional musicianship gradually earned their admiration. In contrast to his clarinet work, Hamilton's sporadic tenor saxophone outings projected a raw, impassioned character. Before his Ellington tenure he performed with Lucky Millinder, Jimmy Mundy, and most prominently Teddy Wilson's sextet from 1940 to 1942 as well as Eddie Heywood, and he also cut sides alongside Billie Holiday. Hamilton remained with Ellington for a quarter century (1943-1968), receiving prominent clarinet exposure on such works as "Air Conditioned Jungle," "Ad Lib on Nippon," and innumerable additional compositions. Following his departure he relocated to the Virgin Islands and instructed music in the local public schools. He made occasional returns to the mainland for appearances with Clarinet Summit in 1981 and 1985, plus a handful of New York engagements between 1989 and 1990, yet remained largely inactive during his final decades. Opportunities to lead his own sessions proved rare, limited chiefly to dates for Urania in 1954, Everest in 1960, two Swingville albums in 1961, and a 1985 recording for Who's Who.