Hilton Ruiz (May 29, 1952 – June 6, 2006) 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 m ...
pianist in the
Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented
bebop
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
player. He was of Puerto Rican descent.
Biography
Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of five after being inspired by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
. At the age of eight he performed Mozart at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
.
In high school Ruiz studied jazz piano with
Mary Lou Williams. In 1973 he was a sideman for
Roland Kirk, then later for
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duk ...
. He also worked with
Betty Carter
Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inte ...
,
Tito Puente, and
Mongo Santamaría. He co-wrote a music instruction book, ''Jazz and How to Play It''.
He appeared on the soundtrack to Woody Allen's ''
Crimes and Misdemeanors''.
On May 19, 2006, Ruiz was found unconscious on
Bourbon Street in
, where he had gone to shoot a video to promote a recently recorded project with M27 Records benefiting the victims of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
entitled "Goin' Back to New Orleans". The police filed a report that he had injured himself in an accidental fall. Ruiz was hospitalized in a coma
and died without regaining consciousness a week after his 54th birthday. Ruiz was a resident of
Teaneck, New Jersey.
He was buried at
Saint Raymond's Cemetery
Saint Raymond's Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 2600 Lafayette Avenue in the Throggs Neck and Schuylerville sections of the Bronx, New York City, United States. The cemetery is composed of two separate locations: the older section (mai ...
in New York City.
Discography
As leader
* 1975 ''
Piano Man'' (
SteepleChase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
)
* 1977 ''
Excition'' (SteepleChase)
* 1977 ''
New York Hilton
The New York Hilton Midtown is the largest hotel in New York City and world's 101st tallest hotel. The hotel is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide. At 1,929 rooms and over 150,000 sq ft of meeting space, the hote ...
'' (SteepleChase)
* 1977 ''
Steppin' Into Beauty
''Steppin' Into Beauty'' is an album by pianist Hilton Ruiz, collecting performances recorded in 1977 at the sessions that produced ''Excition'' and ''New York Hilton'', which was released on the Danish label SteepleChase in 1982.
Track list ...
'' (SteepleChase) released 1982
* 1981 ''Live at Jazz Unitè'' (Jazz Unite)
* 1984 ''Cross Currents'' (Vintage Jazz)
* 1988 ''El Camino (The Road)'' (
Novus)
* 1989 ''Strut'' (Novus)
* 1989 ''Doin' It Right'' (Novus)
* 1991 ''A Moment's Notice'' (Novus)
* 1992 ''Manhattan Mambo'' (
Telarc)
* 1992 ''Live at Birdland'' (
Candid
Candid may refer to:
* Candid (app), a mobile app for anonymous discussions
* Candid (organization), providing information on US nonprofit companies
* Candid Records, a record label
* Ilyushin Il-76, NATO reporting name ''Candid'', a Soviet aircra ...
)
* 1993 ''Heroes'' (Telarc)
* 1995 ''Hands on Percussion'' (TropiJazz/RMM)
* 1997 ''Island Eyes'' (TropiJazz/RMM)
* 1998 ''
Rhythm in the House'' (TropiJazz/RMM)
* 2003 ''Hilton Ruiz Songbook'' (Hilton Ruiz Music)
* 2003 ''Enchantment'' (
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
)
* 2004 ''A New York Story'' Hilton Ruiz Music
* 2005 ''Steppin' with T.P.- dedicated to Tito Puente'' M27 Records
As sideman
With
Paquito D'Rivera
*''Paquito Blowin'' (1981)
With
Greg Abate
Greg Abate (born May 31, 1947)Yanow, ScottGreg Abate Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-05 is a jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and arranger. He grew up in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In the fifth grade he began to play clarinet.
Career
...
*''Horace is Here: A Tribute to Horace Silver'' (2004)
With
Afro Blue Band
*''Impressions'' (1995)
With
George Coleman
*''
Amsterdam After Dark'' (
Timeless
Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to:
* Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time
* Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism
* Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration
* Im ...
, 1979)
*''Live'' (
PYE Records, 1979)
With
Art Davis
*''Reemergence'' (1980)
With
Chico Freeman
*''
Beyond the Rain'' (
Contemporary, 1977)
With
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...
*''
Rhythmstick
''Rhythmstick'' is a 1990 album and video by Dizzy Gillespie and CTI Records All-Stars.Allmusic review/ref>
Video Track listing
#"Barbados" (Charlie Parker)
#"Friday Night at the Cadillac Club" (Bob Berg)
#"Nana" ( Moacir Santos)
#"Caribe" ( Mich ...
'' (1990)
With
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
*''
The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color
''The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color'' is an album by the jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, released as a double LP, with side 4 appearing blank - although side 4 did have a hidden track, the contents of which are released ...
'' (Atlantic, 1975)
*''
Other Folks' Music'' (Atlantic, 1976)
*''
Kirkatron'' (
Warner Bros., 1976)
*''
The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man'' (Warner Bros., 1976)
*''
Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real'' (Warner Bros., 1977)
With
Abbey Lincoln
*''Golden Lady'' (1980)
With
Tisziji Munoz
*''Presence of Truth'' (1999)
References
External links
*
Allmusic.com entry
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 datab ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Hilton
1952 births
2006 deaths
Bebop pianists
Afro-Cuban jazz pianists
Latin jazz pianists
Accidental deaths from falls
People from Teaneck, New Jersey
Accidental deaths in Louisiana
SteepleChase Records artists
Candid Records artists
Arabesque Records artists
20th-century pianists
American musicians of Puerto Rican descent
Catholics from New Jersey
Burials at Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx)
Afro Blue Band members
The Leaders members