John Hicks - Keyboard Warrior

The technical prowess and expressive depth of a true master.

Let me tell you about the first time I heard John Hicks play in a club. It was Labor Day Weekend, 1966. I was in New York with a friend to hear the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra at the Vanguard. We were greeted with a sign taped to the door: Closed for Labor Day. WTF?

So we went over to the Five Spot on Saint Marks Place, in its second incarnation (there would be one more). I’m not sure who the leader was that night, but Charles Tolliver, Gary Bartz, John Hicks and Jack DeJohnette were the musicians on the bandstand along with a bassist whose name I’ve forgotten.

Their performance was outstanding, they were dynamic soloists but worked quite well together as a group. The music carried a subtle yet profound intensity. Unbeknownst to me on that Labor Day evening in the mid-60s, these musicians were on the cusp of gaining widespread respect and fame.

Seven months later, I picked up a new Booker Ervin release, Structurally Sound, which featured John Hicks on piano and Charles Tolliver on trumpet, recorded just a couple of months after the Labor Day gig. I was hip to Booker Ervin from his work with Charles Mingus. Sadly, Booker passed much too early. His powerful tenor saxophone showcased his robust and intense style, marked by a deep soulful expression.

I was really impressed by John Hick’s piano on that recording and every time I heard him in subsequent years. There was a club on the lower east side, The Tin Palace, booked by Stanley Crouch that was a musician’s club house in the late 70s. I loved that club and the cats who played there. The level of music was very high, because there were so many musicians hanging out, they had to play well for their friends. Hicks was the house pianist so I heard him many many times, and we became friends.

Not long before his passing, in 2006, I was producing video for Joe Lovano and captured John at one of Joe’s sessions.

John was the sort of pianist who could play in any situation, and rise to the occasion. In way, he reminded me of Oscar Peterson, not stylistically, but with his majestic keyboard presence. Oscar was coming out of Tatum, John, more from Bud Powell and McCoy Tyner. He had the technical mastery, emotional depth, and stylistic versatility that marked him as one of the best players in New York for many years.

He played and recorded with Pharoah Sanders for nearly a decade, and that was clearly a dynamic duo. Many people don’t know the more sensitive side of Pharoah’s playing. Here, John and Pharoah play John Coltrane’s Central Park West

I close here with a classic, Pharoah’s You’ve Got To Have Freedom, from the album, Journey to the One with Dr. Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Ray Drummond on bass, and Idris Muhammed on drums, Pharoah and John, recorded in 1979.

John’s improvisations always demonstrated a keen awareness of and responsiveness to his fellow musicians. His ability to listen and react in the moment made his improvisations an integral part of the group's overall sound. Everyone wanted to play with John, from Betty Carter to Woody Herman.

John Hicks passed away on May 10, 2006, but left behind a rich discography and a legacy as a mentor to younger musicians. His contribution to jazz continues to be celebrated by critics, fellow musicians, and jazz aficionados around the world.