- In full:
- Earl Kenneth Hines
- Byname:
- Fatha
- Born:
- Dec. 28, 1903, Duquesne, Pa., U.S.
- Died:
- April 22, 1983, Oakland, Calif. (aged 79)
- Movement / Style:
- big-band jazz
Earl Hines
-
Who was Earl Hines?
Earl Hines (1903-1983) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. His innovative style established him as one of the most influential figures in jazz history. Hines learned trumpet and piano as a child, later playing in Midwest bands. From 1927 to 1929, he played with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five, creating jazz classics such as "West End Blues." Hines developed a "trumpet style" of improvisation, using single-note solo lines like a horn player, which influenced generations of jazz pianists.
In the late 1920s, Hines formed his own big band, performing at Chicago’s Grand Terrace Ballroom throughout the 1930s. In the early 1940s, his West Coast band included bop pioneers like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After playing with Louis Armstrong again from 1948 to 1951, Hines led a sextet in San Francisco during the mid-1950s. A career resurgence in the 1960s led to renewed appreciation, and he remained open to new ideas, as shown by his 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival performance.
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What musical instrument was Earl Hines famous for playing?
Earl Hines was an American jazz musician celebrated as one of the most influential figures in jazz history, especially for his innovative approach to playing the piano. Hines developed a unique "trumpet style" of improvisation, setting a standard for generations of jazz pianists. His technique involved playing single-note solo lines with speed, similar to a horn player, and using a forceful touch and octave voicing to make the piano sound brassy. His style influenced prominent modern players, such as Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson.
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What style of music did Earl Hines help develop?
Earl Hines significantly contributed to the development of several jazz styles. He developed a unique "trumpet style" of improvisation, where he played single-note solo lines like a horn player, moving away from the structured block-chord technique of stride pianists. His innovative technique set a new standard for jazz pianists, influencing generations of musicians. Hines also formed his own big band in the late 1920s, which was known for its ensemble unity and hard-driving rhythm, contributing to the swing era.
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What was special about Earl Hines's piano playing?
Earl Hines was an immensely influential jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. His innovative and unique playing style set a standard for generations of jazz pianists.
Hines developed a "trumpet style" of improvisation, eschewing the structured block-chord technique of stride pianists. Instead, he played single-note solo lines with great speed, similar to a horn player. Hines overcame the piano’s background role using a forceful touch and octave voicing in his melody lines. His touch and frequent use of tremolo made the piano sound almost brassy. His virtuoso piano technique was more advanced than his contemporaries.
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Did Earl Hines play with any famous musicians?
Earl Hines collaborated with several famous musicians throughout his career. In 1927, he joined Louis Armstrong's band, the Hot Five, participating in groundbreaking recording sessions and creating jazz classics such as "West End Blues" and "Weather Bird".
In the early 1940s, Hines formed a West Coast band that included bebop pioneers like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as singers Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine. Hines also rejoined Louis Armstrong in 1948, playing in Armstrong's All Stars group until 1951.
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How did Earl Hines influence jazz music in America?
Earl Hines significantly shaped jazz through his innovative piano style, which influenced generations of musicians. His "trumpet style" of playing single-note solo lines with great speed, like a horn player, set him apart from contemporaries who mostly used structured block-chord techniques.
Hines's powerful touch and use of octave voicing allowed the piano to stand out in band settings, overcoming its traditional background role. His recordings with Louis Armstrong, such as "West End Blues," are considered jazz classics, demonstrating his advanced technique. Even modern players like Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson showed his influence.
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Earl Hines (born Dec. 28, 1903, Duquesne, Pa., U.S.—died April 22, 1983, Oakland, Calif.) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer whose unique playing style made him one of the most influential musicians in jazz history.
Hines was born into a musical family in Pittsburgh. As a child he learned trumpet from his father and then piano from his mother; his sister was also a pianist who led bands in the 1930s. After playing in trios during his high school years, Hines played in various bands throughout the Midwest. In 1925–26 he toured with Carroll Dickerson’s orchestra. When Louis Armstrong took over Dickerson’s band in 1927, Hines stayed on as pianist and musical director. He participated in several groundbreaking recording sessions at about this time, including several as a member of Armstrong’s seminal quintet, the Hot Five, and others with clarinetist Jimmie Noone.
The Armstrong-Hines recordings (1927–29), which include the important “West End Blues,” “Muggles,” “Skip the Gutter,” and their “Weather Bird” duet, are jazz classics. On these sides, Hines demonstrates a virtuosic piano technique that was far more advanced than that of his contemporaries. He developed a “trumpet style” of improvisation in which he eschewed the structured block-chord technique of stride pianists and played single-note solo lines, often with great speed, in the manner of a horn player. He overcame the piano’s inherent background role in a band setting by playing with a forceful touch (sometimes breaking piano strings) and using octave voicing in his melody lines. His touch, plus his frequent use of tremolo (i.e., rapid alternation of notes), caused the piano to sound almost brassy. Hines’s style set the standard for generations of jazz pianists, and even such comparatively modern players as Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson showed signs of his influence.
In the late 1920s Hines formed his own big band, noted for ensemble unity and hard-driving rhythm. From 1928 through the 1930s, this was the house band at Chicago’s Grand Terrace Ballroom; regular radio broadcasts brought the music to millions of fans. In the early 1940s Hines formed a new West Coast band that included such bop pioneers as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as singers Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine. Few recordings of this group survive because the musicians’ union was on strike against the major record companies from 1942 to 1944. The band broke apart in 1947.
Hines resumed his partnership with Louis Armstrong in 1948 and played in Armstrong’s small group, the All Stars, until 1951. He next formed a sextet that became a fixture at San Francisco’s Hangover Club during the mid-1950s. Hines had a major career resurgence during the early 1960s, with concert performances and recordings (such as the albums Spontaneous Explorations and Legendary Little Theatre Concert, both 1964) leading to renewed critical and popular appreciation. During his years as an elder statesman of jazz, Hines’s dazzling technique remained as strong as ever, and his performance at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival (released on the album West Side Story) revealed his continued openness to new ideas.