Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bobby Hutcherson." ''AllMusic.'' Web. March 17, 2014. Hutcherson influenced younger vibraphonists including Steve Nelson, Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris.Hamlin, Jesse.
Bobby Hutcherson Passionate about Music, Life
" ''SFGate.'' Hearst Communications, Inc., January 15, 2012. Web. March 17, 2014.Musto, Russ. "Steve Nelson: Vibing." ''All About Jazz.'' August 1, 2006. Web. May 23, 2014.Henderson, Alex. "Joe Locke , Biography." ''AllMusic.'' Web. February 27, 2014.Ross, David. "Bobby Hutcherson: Master of the Vibes." ''KALW.'' March 27, 2012. Web. March 17, 2014.

Biography

Early life and career

Bobby Hutcherson was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, to Eli, a master mason, and Esther, a hairdresser. Hutcherson was exposed to jazz by his brother Teddy, who listened to

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

records in the family home with his friend

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

. His older sister Peggy was a singer in

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

's orchestra. Hutcherson went on to record on a number of Gerald Wilson's Pacific Jazz recordings as well as play in his orchestra. Hutcherson's sister personally introduced Hutcherson to Eric Dolphy (her boyfriend at the time) and

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

. Hutcherson was inspired to take up the vibraphone when at about the age of 12 he heard

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

playing "

Bemsha Swing This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" ...

" on the ''

Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 2 ''Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 2'' (PRLP 200) is a 10-inch LP album by Miles Davis, recorded in 1954 for Prestige Records. The two side-long tracks on this LP, and two others, were recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey ...

'' album (1954). Still in his teens, Hutcherson began his professional career in the late 1950s working with tenor saxophonist

Curtis Amy Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the teno ...

and trumpeter

Carmell Jones Carmell Jones (July 19, 1936 – November 7, 1996) was an American jazz trumpet player. Biography Jones was born in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. He started piano lessons at age five, and trumpet lessons at age seven. His first professional ...

, as well as with Dolphy and tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd at

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...

on the Sunset Strip.Ouellette, Dan. "California Dreaming." ''DownBeat'' 80.4 (2013): 30–33. Print.Cuscuna, Michael. Liner notes. Hutcherson, Bobby. ''

Patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

''. Blue Note, 1980. LP. He made his recording debut on August 3, 1960, cutting two songs for a 7-inch single with the Les McCann trio for

Pacific Jazz Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founded ...

(released in 1961), followed by the LP ''

Groovin' Blue ''Groovin' Blue'' is an album by saxophonist Curtis Amy and drummer Frank Butler recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 for the Pacific Jazz label.Frank Butler sextet on December 10 (also released by Pacific Jazz in 1961). In January 1962, Hutcherson joined the

–

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

group for dates at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco and Birdland in New York City (opposite Art Blakey). After touring with the Mitchell–Grey group for a year, Hutcherson settled in New York City (on 165th street in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

) where he worked part-time as a taxi driver, before fully entering the jazz scene via his childhood friend, bassist

Herbie Lewis Herbie Lewis (February 17, 1941 – May 18, 2007) was an American jazz double bassist. He played or recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Harold Land, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, Tete Mont ...

."Pacific Jazz Records Discography: 1959–1960." ''Jazz Discography Project''. Ed. Nobuaki Togashi, Kohji Matsubayashi, and Masayuki Hatta. Web. February 16, 2014.

Blue Note Records

Lewis was working with

The Jazztet The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...

and hosted jam sessions at his apartment. After hearing Hutcherson play at one of Lewis' events, Jazztet and

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

band member

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

felt that Hutcherson would be a good fit for McLean's group, which led to Hutcherson's first recording for

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

on April 30, 1963, McLean's ''

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Step ...

''. This was quickly followed by sessions for Blue Note with Moncur, Dolphy, Gordon, Andrew Hill, Tony Williams and

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

in 1963 and 1964, later followed by sessions with

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

, John Patton, Duke Pearson and

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' (1 ...

. In spite of the numerous

post-bop Post-bop is a genre of small-combo jazz that evolved in the early to mid 1960s in the United States. Pioneers of the genre, such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, crafted syntheses ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

, and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

recordings made during this period, Hutcherson's first session for Blue Note as leader, '' The Kicker'' (recorded in 1963 but not released until 1999), demonstrated his background in

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

and the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, as did ''

Idle Moments ''Idle Moments'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label in 1965. It features performances by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Duke Pearson, ...

'' with Grant Green. Hutcherson won the "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" award in the 1964 ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' readers' poll, and Blue Note released Hutcherson's '' Dialogue'' in 1965.Tatum, Doug. "'99–2000: Off and Running." ''Jazz Ambassadors Magazine.'' Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, Inc., October 1999. Web. February 16, 2014. The 1966 record '' Stick-Up!'', featuring Joe Henderson, Herbie Lewis, and

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

, was the first of many recorded sessions Hutcherson made with

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

throughout their careers. ''Stick-Up!'' was also the only album out of ten Hutcherson recorded as leader for Blue Note between 1965 and 1969 which did not feature drummer

Joe Chambers Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

or any of Chambers' compositions. Spanning the years 1963 to 1977, Hutcherson had one of the longest recording careers with Blue Note, second only to

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

's.

Return to the West Coast

Hutcherson lost his

cabaret card The New York City Cabaret Identification Card was a permit required of all workers, including performers, in nightclubs in New York City from Prohibition to 1967. Its administration was fraught with politics, and some artists' cards were revoked o ...

and taxi driver's license in 1967 after he and

were arrested for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

possession in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, so he moved back to California, but continued to record for Blue Note. This return to the West Coast resulted in an important partnership with

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliffo ...

, with whom Hutcherson recorded seven albums for Blue Note, featuring a rotating lineup of pianists such as Chick Corea, Stanley Cowell, and

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

, and usually Chambers on drums. The Hutcherson-Land group broke up in 1971, and that same year Hutcherson won the title of "World's Best Vibist" in the International Jazz Critics Poll. After the release of '' Knucklebean'' in 1977, Hutcherson recorded three albums for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in the late 1970s. Bobby Hutcherson

Land and Hutcherson reunited in the early 1980s for several recordings as the "Timeless All Stars," a sextet featuring

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...

, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams, and

which recorded four albums for the Dutch label

Timeless Records Timeless Records is a jazz record label based in the Netherlands. Timeless was founded in Wageningen in 1975 by Wim Wigt. It has specialized in bebop, though it also did a sub-series of releases of Dixieland and swing recordings. As of 2000, th ...

. After switching between several labels in the early 1980s for his solo material, Hutcherson recorded eight albums for

Landmark Records Landmark Records was an American jazz record company and label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews. Landmark's releases included music by Donald Byrd, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Heath, Vincent Herring, Bobby Hutcherson, Mulgrew Miller, Buddy Montgome ...

from the 1980s into the early 1990s, and continued to work steadily as a sideman during this time. His recorded output slowed somewhat during the past few decades, although he did release albums for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

in the 1990s, three for the Swiss-based label Kind of Blue in the 21st century, and continued to tour.

Later years

In 2004, Hutcherson became an inaugural member of the

SFJAZZ Collective The SFJAZZ Collective is an American jazz ensemble comprising nine performer/composers, launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ, a West Coast non-profit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. Collective activities The SFJ ...

, featuring

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

Miguel Zenón Miguel Zenón (born December 30, 1976) is a Puerto Rican alto saxophonist, composer, band leader, music producer, and educator. He is a multiple Grammy Award nominee, and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. He als ...

Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a prolific and provocative writer who comments on a multitude of subjects, inc ...

, Renee Rosnes, and Eric Harland, among others. He toured with them for four years, and made an appearance at the SFJAZZ Center's grand opening in 2013. His 2007 quartet included Renee Rosnes on piano,

Dwayne Burno Dwayne Allen Burno (June 10, 1970 – December 28, 2013) was an American jazz bassist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who became a first-call musician on the New York City jazz scene.Tamarkin, Jeff. "Bassist Dwayne Burno Dies at 43." ''JazzTim ...

on bass and

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster ...

on drums. His 2008 quartet included Joe Gilman on piano, Glenn Richman on bass and

Eddie Marshall Edwin "Eddie" Marshall (April 13, 1938 – September 7, 2011Obituary
) was an American

on drums. In 2010 he received the lifetime Jazz Master Fellowship Award from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and performed at Birdland in a quintet featuring Gilman, Burno, Marshall, and Peter Bernstein. 2014 saw Hutcherson return to Blue Note Records with ''Enjoy the View'', recorded at

Ocean Way Studios Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

in Hollywood with

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

, and Billy Hart. The quartet performed four sold-out shows at the SFJAZZ Center in February, prior to the album's release.Blue Note Records. BOBBY HUTCHERSON RETURNS TO BLUE NOTE WITH ALL-STAR COLLECTIVE FOR "ENJOY THE VIEW" ON 6/24. N.p., March 17, 2014. Web. March 17, 2014.

Acting career

Hutcherson's intermittent acting career included an appearance as the bandleader in '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1969), and as Ace in '' Round Midnight'' (1986)."Bobby Hutcherson." ''IMDb.'' Web. February 27, 2014.

Personal life

Hutcherson has a son, Barry, from his first marriage to Beth Buford. Hutcherson wrote the waltz "Little B's Poem" for Barry in 1962. Due to the success of "Ummh" from the album ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

'', one of Hutcherson's few entries in the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

style, he was able to buy an acre of land on which he built a house in

Montara, California Montara () is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2020 census. Nearby communities include Moss Beach and Princeton-by-the-Sea. Etymology According to historical source ...

, in 1972. That same year, he married Rosemary Zuniga, a ticket taker at the Both/And club in San Francisco. The couple had a son, Teddy, who is a production manager for SFJAZZ. Hutcherson attended an

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

as a youth and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

later in life. A heavy smoker all his life, Hutcherson had suffered from emphysema since 2007. He died from the condition in Montara, California, on August 15, 2016.

Style and critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

contributor Steve Huey stated that Hutcherson's "free-ringing, open chords and harmonically advanced solos were an important part of Dolphy's 1964 masterwork ''

Out to Lunch! ''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobb ...

''", and called ''Dialogue'' a "classic of modernist post-bop", declaring Hutcherson "one of jazz's greatest vibraphonists". Huey went on to say: "along with

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

, the other seminal vibraphone talent of the '60s, Hutcherson helped modernize his instrument by redefining what could be done with it – sonically, technically, melodically, and emotionally. In the process, he became one of the defining (if underappreciated) voices in the so-called "new thing" portion of Blue Note's glorious '60s roster." In his liner notes to the 1980 release of ''

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

'', record producer Richard Seidel (

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...

) wrote that "of all the vibists to appear on the scene contemporaneous with Hutcherson, none have been able to combine the rhythmic dexterity, emotive attack and versatile musical interests that Bobby possesses." Seidel concurred that Hutcherson was "part of the vanguard of the new jazz developments in the Sixties. He contributed mightily to several of the key sessions that document these developments."Seidel, Richard. Liner notes. Hutcherson, Bobby. ''

.'' Blue Note, 1980. LP. Interviewed by Jesse Hamlin for a piece on Hutcherson in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' in 2012, collaborator

said that "We talk a lot about how music expresses universal values, experiences and feelings. But you don't often witness that so clearly and so profoundly as you do with Bobby. His music expresses the joy of living. He connects to the source of what music is about." In an April 2013 profile for ''

'' magazine, Dan Ouellette wrote that "Hutcherson took the vibes to a new level of jazz sophistication with his harmonic inventions and his blurring-fast, four-mallet runs... Today, he's the standard bearer of the instrument and has a plenitude of emulators to prove it." Ouellette quoted

as saying "Bobby is the greatest vibes player of all time.... Milt Jackson was ''the'' guy, but Bobby took it to the next level. It's like Milt was

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, and Bobby was

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Discography

References

External links

Complete discography, news and reviews
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutcherson, Bobby 1941 births 2016 deaths American jazz vibraphonists Musicians from Los Angeles Marimbists American jazz composers Timeless Records artists Atlantic Records artists Landmark Records artists Columbia Records artists Verve Records artists Blue Note Records artists Jazz musicians from California American taxi drivers African-American Catholics SFJAZZ Collective members Jazz vibraphonists