Milt Hinton
| Milt Hinton | |
|---|---|
Milt Hinton aboard the SS Norway (1988), courtesy of Arthur Elgort
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Milton John Hilton |
| Born |
June 23, 1910 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2000 (aged 90) Queens, New York |
| Genres | Traditional jazz, swing, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, photographer, educator |
| Instruments | Double bass |
| Years active | 1920s–1990s |
| Labels | CBS, Bethlehem, Victor, Black & Blue, Chiaroscuro |
| Associated acts | Jabbo Smith, Zutty Singleton, Art Tatum, Eddie South, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Clark Terry, Hank Jones, Branford Marsalis |
| Website | www |
Milton John "Milt" Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000), regarded as the Dean of jazz bass players, was an American double bassist and photographer. His nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the road with Cab Calloway, and "The Judge" from the 1950s and beyond.
Hinton was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the only child of Hilda Gertrude Robinson, whom he referred to as "Titter," and Milton Dixon Hinton. He was three-months-old when his father left the family. He grew up in a home with his mother, his maternal grandmother (whom he referred to as "Mama"), and two of his mother's sisters.
His childhood in Vicksburg was characterized by extreme poverty and extreme racism. Lynching was a common practice at the time. Hinton said that one of the clearest memories of his childhood was when he accidentally came upon a lynching.
Hinton moved with his extended family to Chicago, Illinois in the fall of 1919, which created opportunities for him. Chicago was where Hinton first encountered economic diversity among African-Americans, about which he later noted, "That's when I realized that being black didn't always mean you had to be poor." It was also where he experienced an abundance of music, either in person or through live performances on the radio. During this time he first heard concerts featuring Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Eddie South, and many others.
Music was a fixture at home. His mother and other relatives regularly played piano. He received his first instrument – a violin – in 1923 for his thirteenth birthday. While attending Wendell Phillips High School, he played violin in the school orchestra and learned peck horn in order to play in the school's ROTC marching band that was directed by Major N. Clark Smith. He soon transitioned from peck horn to bass saxophone and then to tuba, while also being accepted into the citywide brass band sponsored by the Chicago Defender, where he played with Lionel Hampton.
...
Wikipedia