Milt Hinton

Happy Birthday Milt Hinton  1910-2000...Those who played with Milt Hinton called him "The Judge" for his  ultimate timekeeping and infectious, rhythmic bass lines. Trumpeter Clark Terry said, "When you work with the Judge, you know your gonna get some time." Over his 70 year career he backed many of the great artists of jazz and is possibly the most recorded jazz musician of all all time.

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, he spent most of his childhood in Chicago during a time when the Chicago jazz scene included Louis Armstrong, Freddie Keppard and Jelly Roll Morton among other exciting New Orleans jazz musicians who had migrated north to make a name for themselves. His mother bought him a violin and lessons at the age of 13 and Hinton went on to master the tuba and teach himself the bass. He joined violinist and bandleader Eddie South as a bassist at the age of 21, crediting South with teaching him how to play with more feeling.

Cab Calloway picked him up after hearing him play in Chicago which started a 16 year stint with that renowned band. Hinton had to fill the spot (and the over sized uniform) of 6'6" bass player Al Morgan. Hinton recalled his anxiety the first time he had to play Morgan's famous bass solo on "Reefer Man", overcompensating and playing every note he could think of, "the guys [in the band] were laughing...and Cab Calloway was holding his side. When the band came in I was scared to death!" He settled in quickly after that and became the undisputed king of the "slap bass" technique.

Starting in the 50's, Hinton became one of the most recorded bassists in New York. He worked hundreds of sessions with some of the biggest stars of jazz, pop and soul music including Count Basie, Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Bobby Darin. Along with pianist Hank Jones and drummer Osie Johnson he formed the New York Rhythm Section which had the unique ability to enhance any studio arrangement. He was also one of two African-American musicians hired by Jackie Gleason and his 65 piece orchestra and his professionalism and top notch musicianship helped pave the way for other black musicians to break the color barrier in recording sessions. By the end of his career he had played on 1,174 recordings.

He was also a mentor and inspiration to many up and coming young musicians. His strong sense of passing on the tradition was noted by the bassist John Clayton, "He's the kind of person who is always anxious to share." A fine photographer, Hinton also used his camera to record many of the great musicians he played with. His books "Overtime: The Jazz Photographs of Milt Hilton" and his autobiography, "Playing the Changes", are a treasure trove of jazz images, many of them used in Jean Bach's 1995 jazz documentary "A Great Day in Harlem".