MySpace
myspace music my music  featured playlists  top artists  music videos  karaoke  shows  forums 


MySpace.com | rss | sign in
Chico Hamilton



Last Updated: 12/8/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Status: Single
City: NEW YORK
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date: 5/14/2006

Blog Archive
[Older      Newer]
 /  / 
Monday, December 28, 2009 

Category: Music
http://image.examiner.com/x-16964-NY-Culture-Examiner~y2009m12d16-Chico-Hamilton-and-his-Euphoria-Quintet-at-Jazz-Gallery

Chico Hamilton and his Euphoria Quintet at Jazz Gallery

December 16, 5:34 PM
NY Culture Examiner
Layla Macoran

There are times when a journalistic mind doesn’t always function as much as a music
lover’s heart. Such was the case last Tuesday at Jazz Gallery. Chico Hamilton, age 88,
performed one of the final dates of his East Coast tour. Please, feel free to be in awe.
You won’t be alone.
 
Chico Hamilton and quintet/Photo:Cecil Raff

Chico Hamilton doesn’t seem to take time to rest on his laurels. After
dozens of recordings under his belt, he released his latest album, Twelve
Tones of Love, in April of this year. Tones followed the four releases in 2008.
This evening’s Jazz Gallery performance wasn’t about the set list, although
it was pretty tight. The night wasn’t about his dexterity as he put his cane
aside to settle in at the kit- the consummate musician knows how to turn it on at the exact right time. Occasional omission of band members’ names
was not all that significant in the moment (for the record, the Euphoria
Quintet consists of Nick Demopoulos-guitar, Paul Ramsey-bass guitar, Evan
Shwam-reeds/sax/flute, Jeremy Carlstedt-drums/percussion, and guest artist
Mayu- flute). This evening had a deeper meaning.

The man of the hour Photo: Cecil Raff

The performances for both sets were sold out, full to capacity with people aware of the
history before them. The man in question, nattily dressed, charming and charismatic,
was playing with decades of knowledge in his fingers. The audience was present to
see a legend, and it wouldn’t have mattered if he skipped a beat, sneezed, or threw a
drumstick at the percussionist. None of those things happened, but it was very solid
and worth the visit to Hudson Street on a Tuesday night.


Paul Ramsey, Evan Schwam, Mayu Photo: Cecil Raff

The band fit well, and one of the moments that stood out were the blending of saxophone
and flute to sound like one single entity. Such rich detail is not a fluke, but an indication of
good minds at work. Carlstedt was a fine foil for Hamilton, keenly leaving room for the
leader to stay in control.
 Photo: Cecil Raff

When the show ended, the audience displayed a huge amount of gratitude and respect
to one of jazz music’s elder statesmen. The music lover in the journalist felt pretty
content as well. These pockets of master lessons have done much to enrich the life of
this particular examiner.

Note:
Now posted on Chico's myspace page is the "Twelve Tones of Love" EPK short
video by Director Jeff Chenault of eleven07, who spent time with Chico and his crew
shooting the rehearsals and the recording session for "Twelve Tones of Love", as
well as having interviewed Chico about the recording afterwards. This EPK video
short is a precursor of Jeff Chenault's full length video memoir on Chico coming
soon!


Chico Hamilton EPK

Chico Hamilton | MySpace Music Videos
11:11 PM 
1 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, December 27, 2009 

Category: Music
http://luxuryexperience.com/music_scene/music_artists/chico_hamilton_-_twelve_tones_of_love.html



Chico Hamilton - Twelve Tones of Love
  
Written by Edward F. Nesta
  
The release Chico Hamilton - Twelve Tones of Love features 15 original songs written
by Chico and his bandmembers that project new levels of emotion and elements of a
sound that is the signature style of the living legend Chico Hamilton.
 
Chico Hamilton - Twelve Tones of Love
                  
Twelve Tones of Love:  A Piece of Music; Happiness Prevails; George: Nonchalant;
Lazy Afternoon; Charlie Parker Suite; Penthouse A; On The Trail; Broadway; If You
Can't Beat ‘em, Fight ‘em; Really Makes My Day; First Light; Raul; Steinway; I Don't
Know Why (I Just Do); Lonely Woman; Brother Bob; The Alto of Kelso
    
Personnel: Chico Hamilton: Drums, Vocals; Cary DeNigris: Guitar; Paul Ramsey:
Fender Bass; Evan Schwam: Flute, Soprano and Tenor Saxophone; Eddie Barbash:
Flute, Soprano and Alto Saxophone; Ian Young: Alto Saxophone; Jeremy Carlstedt:
Percussion; George Bohanon: Trombone; Jose James: Vocals; Jack Kelso: Alto
Saxophone (Tracks 17 & 18)
      
Chico Hamilton - Twelve Tones of Love was produced by Chico Hamilton and released
on the Joyous Shout! label. Where do you start when trying to create a recap of the
background for a legend like Chico Hamilton? You could start with over 7 decades as a
musician, or over 50 albums that he recorded under his name and countless other
recordings with the likes of Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Tony Bennett, Charles
Mingus, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and the complete list would be a thick book in
itself, or that Chico is still as fresh in his sound and progressive in his writing at the
age of 88, but I believe the impressive point is a combination of all of the above, along
with the fact that he wrote or co-wrote 15 new tracks of the 18 songs on the 75+
minute Twelve Tones of Love. Chico Hamilton is a treasure for the music industry, now
if we could only bottle his energy, enthusiasm, and creativity, so that throngs of music
lovers long into the future will be able to hear new and progressive music like we
continue to receive from this legend. This is truly a remarkable individual and a release
that you will need to add to your collection.
 
The release opens with the track A Piece of Music that was co-written by Chico and
his lifelong friend Jack Kelso. The melody is embracing like a warm ray of sunshine on
your face, Chico's music creates a mood and feeling, it is not about any individual
instrument or musician, but it is about the total sound. Many of the tracks were written
with regards to times in his life and friends he has embraced over the years showing
that no matter how long you perform, the respect goes to those that were there to help
you along your journey. Happiness Prevails livens up the pace and rolls out the horn
section while Chico holds down a tight and rolling baseline. The track George was
written for his friend and 60's band mate George Bohanon and leads with Chico's legato
call of "George" that is passed on to George Bohanon on muted trombone before the
rest of the band swaggers in and dynamically changes the feeling and emotion of the
song, which is a signature style of Chico Hamilton's writing.
 
The cover of Lazy Afternoon, first recorded by Tony Bennett with Chico on drums for
the Tony Bennett release A Beat of My Heart, is performed by vocalist Jose James, a
student of Chico's, with Chico reprising his role on percussion. The recording is a duet
of Chico on mallets where he shows a touch on the skins that complements the tone
and tempo of Jose's vocals. The track Charlie Parker Suite was written by Chico in
2007 for the 15th Annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. The piece reflects the
complexity and depth that Charlie Parker rendered, as well as a dual percussion
section that lays the groundwork for the band. Charlie Parker was a major influence on
Chico showing him depth and levels of rhythm that he never heard before, as well as
Chico wanted to reflect Charlie's touch when playing the melody.

Other tracks include the originals, Penthouse A, a piece that uncovers different
elements of percussion tied to guitar and bass lines, a very interesting song; Broadway
that features great guitar and tenor works; If You Can't Beat ‘em, Fight ‘em leading with
a mesmerizing saxophone, bass, and drum skin/cymbal sound that a snake charmer
would beg for; Really Makes My Day is a short piece that features Chico on vocals
reciting a poem for his wife Ellen; and Steinway conjures memories of Chico's early
days when he and his friend Gerald Wilson would take their turns playing on a
Steinway, the track is poignant and the emotional elements of Chico's percussion work
float to the top of each line and chord.

With 18 tracks to play and replay, there are textures, elements, emotions, and
components of sound that you will find each time you listen to Twelve Tones of Love. A
masterful release by a master of the genre and a living legend, what more could you ask for?

Websites where you can procure Chico Hamilton - Twelve Tones of Love are Amazon,
HB Direct, CD Universe, MusicFayre, Insound, and EMusic.
   
Note:
Now posted on Chico's myspace page is the "Twelve Tones of Love" EPK short
video by Director Jeff Chenault of eleven07, who spent time with Chico and his crew
shooting the rehearsals and the recording session for "Twelve Tones of Love", as
well as having interviewed Chico about the recording afterwards. This EPK video
short is a precursor of Jeff Chenault's full length video memoir on Chico coming
soon!!


Chico Hamilton EPK

Chico Hamilton | MySpace Music Videos
7:42 PM 
1 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, December 27, 2009 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/arts/music/28smith.html 


Hale Smith, Who Broke Borders of Classical and Jazz, Is Dead at 84

November 28, 2009
 
By WILLIAM GRIMES

Hale Smith, a classical composer who also worked as a performer and
arranger with jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Chico Hamilton,
died Tuesday at his home in Freeport, L.I. He was 84.

The cause was complications of a stroke, said his wife, Juanita.

Mr. Smith, who wryly described himself to The New York Times in 1990
as “one of America’s most famous unknown composers,” straddled the
two worlds of jazz and classical music as a performer, composer,
arranger and teacher. From his early teens, he played jazz piano in
the nightclubs of Cleveland, his hometown, but he went on to study
classical composition and achieve a national reputation for an
eclectic oeuvre and his synthesis of jazz and 12-tone technique.

He composed serial-influenced works like “Contours for Orchestra”
(1961) and “Ritual and Incantations” (1974), lyrical works like the
song cycle “The Valley Wind” (1952) and jingles and incidental music
for radio, television and theater. With the drummer Chico Hamilton,
he composed the film score for “Mr. Ricco” (1975), and his skill as
an orchestrator led to a series of collaborations with the pianist
Ahmad Jamal.

Mr. Smith was born on June 29, 1925, in Cleveland, where his father
owned a printing shop. He began studying piano at 7 and played
mellophone in his high school band. At 16, he showed enough talent as
a composer to attract the interest of Duke Ellington, who, after
being shown one of his compositions, sat down with him to offer
advice.

After being drafted into the Army in 1943, he arranged the music for
shows touring Army camps in Florida and Georgia. Mr. Smith, who was
black, told The Times, “I served on the third front, the American
South.”

On leaving the service in 1945 he enrolled in the Cleveland Institute
of Music, where he studied composition with the serialist Marcel Dick
and theory with Ward Lewis. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1950 and
a master’s in 1952. That year his “Four Songs” won the music
licensing organization BMI’s first student composer award.

In 1948 he married Juanita Hancock. In addition to his wife, he is
survived by a daughter, Robin, of Manhattan; three sons, Michael, of
Freeport; Eric, of York, Pa.; and Marcel, of Harpursville, N.Y.; and
three grandchildren.

Mr. Smith moved to New York in 1958 and found work as an editor and
consultant at several music publishing houses. He also taught at the
C.W. Post campus of Long Island University, in Brookville, and at the
University of Connecticut in Storrs, from which he retired in 1984.

Eclectic in his tastes and interests, Mr. Smith composed works that
ranged from the richly dissonant orchestral
composition “Innerflexions” (1977) to “Dialogues and Commentary”
(1990-91), a witty set of variations for septet on a single motif.
His arrangements of spirituals were performed often by the sopranos
Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman.

In 2000, Composers Recordings released a survey of his work, “Music
of Hale Smith.”

Although Mr. Smith, an adviser for the Center for Black Music
Research in Chicago, was routinely listed among the leading black
composers of his day, he bristled at the designation. He wanted his
work, and that of his black peers, to appear on programs with that of
Beethoven, Mozart and Copland.

“We don’t even have to be called black,” he wrote in an article in
1971. “When we stand for our bows, that fact will become clear when
it should — after the music has made its own impact.”
7:41 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, December 27, 2009 

Category: Music

Producing Magic

Evansville native manages famous jazz man


Photo by Denny Simmons
Jeffrey Caddick, owner of Hercules Manufacturing Co. in Henderson, Ky., trains a new employee in the
fabrication of the company’s box trucks on Wednesday afternoon. Caddick also is the manager for jazz
drummer Chico Hamilton.

By By MARK WILSON
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7417 or wilsonm@courierpress.com
Monday, March 19, 2007
 
Jeffrey Caddick maintains two seemingly completely different careers. You'll find his name on trade
publications about refrigerated trucks for the dairy industry. And, yes, he's also the guy who owns a
music production company and serves as the manager for legendary jazz drummer Chico Hamilton.

Caddick, 44, grew up in Evansville, attending Plaza Park Middle School and Harrison High School. He
was entering his senior year as an accounting major at Indiana University in the mid-1980s when he
began experiencing the kind of dilemma not all that unusual for college students facing life decisions.
What was a little more unusual was his response.

"I thought, businesses are going to train you to do what they need you to do anyway. I could quit and
have wasted three years or I could stay and find something to keep myself engaged," he said.

Caddick put his business knowledge to work booking live music appearances in Bloomington, Ind., and
the Midwest. Some of the acts Caddick booked have long been forgotten. But when Caddick booked
Hamilton, a legendary jazz drummer and band leader, to play a small club in Bloomington, it was the
beginning of a decades-long relationship that continues today.

He is the musician's manager and producer.

Caddick owns Hercules Manufacturing Co., a Henderson, Ky., company (originally begun in Evansville)
that he bought from his parents. He works as the purchasing manager.

He has developed duel careers by helping move both the longstanding Tri-State company and the
internationally known drummer's career and legacy into the future.

Hamilton said he was immediately struck by how together Caddick was when they first met.

"Jeff hired me to play a concert. I was so impressed with him that I told him, 'Listen man, if you are ever
in New York give me a call,'" Hamilton recalled. "And he did. He came to New York."

Caddick has been Hamilton's manager since 1988, traveling with him when he can, booking shows,
producing CDs and generally advising him.

"I don't say yes to something unless he says yes," Hamilton said. "He is more like a partner than a
manager."

During just one week this month, Caddick woke up in Washington, D.C., on a Sunday, New York on
Monday, Evansville on Tuesday and Indianapolis on Wednesday. Sometimes he is traveling to meet a
client of the family business. At other times, he may be traveling to shepherd Hamilton through a
performance or an event such as his recent appearance at the Kennedy Center, where Hamilton was
honored as a living jazz legend.

"The only thing I don't do is play the music. That's his job. He lets me do everything else so he can focus
on his music," he said.

Caddick didn't go to New York right away though. It took a few years.

Just days after graduating from college he got a call to come home and help with a family business.
 
Caddick's father, George Caddick, owned Hercules at the time. He was also a car buff and had opened
a store in Eastland Mall called Car Care Corner but a previous manager had caused it to flounder.
Returning home, he spent the next two years turning the store into money-making venture. Deciding to
take a break, in 1988, he closed the store, sold off its merchandise and hit the road in a red Chevy
Impala station wagon on a series of road trips. That's when he finally decided to drop in and visit Hamilton.

The visit led to an invitation to accompany Hamilton on a tour of Europe.

"I thought I would just be like a roadie, setting up and breaking down the drums and stuff," Caddick said.
"But we got to England and in the first meeting we had with anybody, Chico introduced me as his
manager!"

Caddick moved to New York to manage Hamilton's business affairs, eventually also landing a job as
marketing director for a company that handled distribution for several record labels specializing in avant
garde jazz.

He started working for Hercules again in 1993 and returned to Evansville permanently in 1995 but he
kept his job working for Hamilton and promoting music.

"People always say 'oh, man, music - that must be fun compared to your other job.' But it is all the same
thing to me," Caddick said.

In fact, his obvious appreciation for history and tradition provide a uniting theme between the two jobs.
Caddick can speak as long and as enthusiastically about Hercules as he can about music. The company
has been through many changes since it began in 1902 when William H. McCurdy moved his buggy
company to Evansville from Cincinnati to make the buggies sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Through the years, the company has built truck bodies, trailers and wood-paneled station wagons in
various permutations. The popular "woody" station wagon bodies were sold to Pontiac, Packard,
Oldsmobile and Buick. Between 1925 and 1935, the company was owned by another Evansville
business, Servel Manufacturing Co., which mostly produced gas-powered refrigerators. During this
time, Hercules first began experimenting with refrigerated trucks. Caddick's father purchased the
company in 1957, moving it to Henderson. Today it builds specialized and refrigerated truck bodies and
trailers.

Caddick recently discovered that some of the gas refrigerators built at Hercules' Evansville plant during
its affiliation with Servel in the 1930s are still being used in some Canadian hunting lodges.

"I'm really proud of that," he said. "How many companies can say they have made something that is still
in use today? Hercules built its station wagons with oak from the same wood supplier it uses today."

Caddick said he finds similar kinds of tradition and values in Hamilton's music.

"I feel a very strong connection to it because a lot of the values that are embodied by those people are
for all intents and purposes over," he said. "Chico is always young at heart. As a band leader he has
always had young people in his band."

Hamilton, who turned 85 in September, grew up in Los Angeles around the Central Avenue jazz scene
and has been drumming since the 1940s when he worked with and toured behind numerous jazz and
popular musicians including Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and
Sammie Davis Jr. That's Hamilton playing behind Billie Holiday on her "Lady Sings the Blues" and
Carnegie Hall concert albums.

In 1987, he became a founding member of the New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music
program in New York City and still teaches there two days a week.

His interest in performing live again coincided with meeting Caddick, who threw all his energy into
bringing Hamilton back to the world's attention. To do so, Caddick decided to go outside the normal
means of promotion and hit the Internet. He estimates that 95 percent of his job promoting Hamilton is
done through the Web.

"A lot of effort went into getting him back on the scene," he said. "I was the one who did that."

But it has paid off, Hamilton was inducted as a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master in
2004 and invited to perform at the White House for President Bush. In December, the Senate confirmed
his presidential appointment to the National Council on the Arts, an advisory board to the chairman of the
NEA. For his part, Caddick said, he just wants to bring attention to Hamilton and his music and give him
space to create his music without worrying about anything else.

"An artist is going to be most successful when you allow him to be himself," he said.


Chico Hamilton live performance at Borders Bookstore

Chico Hamilton | MySpace Music Videos
7:39 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: April Thibeault, AMT PR
Tel. 212.861.0990
april@amtpublicrelations.com

WHAT:

Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Association Present NEA Jazz Master
Chico Hamilton and his Euphoria Quintet

WHO:

NEA Jazz Master Foreststorn 'Chico' Hamilton

WHERE

The Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10013

WHEN: 

Tuesday December, 8 2009 Two sets 7:30 PM & 9 PM

DETAILS:

Having recently celebrated his 88th Birthday, join NEA Jazz Master Foreststorn
"Chico" Hamilton performing Tuesday December 8th at the Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson
Street, NYC with two sets @ 7:30 PM and 9:00 PM Tel. (212) 242-1063  performing
with his Euphoria quintet selections from his recently released "Twelve Tones of Love"
CD. Chico is considered one of the most important living jazz artists and composers.

HOW:

Tel. (212) 242-1063 $10 advance/$15 day of show
 
http://www.myspace.com/chicohamilton

Note:
Now posted on Chico's myspace page is the "Twelve Tones of Love" EPK short video by Director Jeff
Chenault of eleven07, who spent time with Chico and his crew shooting the rehearsals and the
recording session for "Twelve Tones of Love", as well as having interviewed Chico about the recording
afterwards. This EPK video short is a precursor of Jeff Chenault's full length video memoir on Chico
coming soon!!


Chico Hamilton EPK

Chico Hamilton | MySpace Music Videos
5:57 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Monday, October 05, 2009 

Category: Music
Friends,
Hope this finds you enjoying your day. This week we've got jazz legend Chico Hamilton, who just released the CD "Twelve Tones of Love," on which he features our favorite jazz vocalist & friend, José James.

:: This Week on Friends We Love ::


JOSÉ JAMES / VOCALIST + LYRICIST + SONGWRITER
Critically acclaimed artist, José James shares how taking risks and following his spirit has paved his journey and inspired him to spread love & light
through his music.


CHICO HAMILTON / JAZZ LEGEND
Jazz legend, Chico Hamilton opens his heart about how he met the love of his life, his wife of 67 years, Helen.

Lastly, if you have yet to donate, now is a great time! As many of you know we are self funded and going HD doesn't require but 600 people donating $10! Then everyone would benefit from the gorgeous quality.

Thank you for reading, watching & being...

Spread love,
Mike & Moni

www.myspace.com/chicohamilton

www.myspace.com/josejamesquartet

http://www.myspace.com/ny3city

www.friendswelove.com 
12:59 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, August 02, 2009 

Category: Music



Featured Artist: Chico Hamilton
CD Title: Twelve Tones Of Love
Year: 2009
Record Label: Joyous Shout

Review:
Jazz legend Chico Hamilton, drummer, composer, leader, educator, producer and all
around cultural treasure for America’s music, has a new record, "Twelve Tones Of
Love". No surprise that he is still going strong at 87. Playing in his minimalist style, a
style that is as fresh and vibrant as his first recording a half a century earlier finds
Master Hamilton laying down musical fills, swinging rhythms, writing original tunes in
multi layered melodical fashion - while painting musical portraits for eighteen wonderful
tracks. This time out, as in past recordings Chico has surrounded himself with great
players, some of his past students, some of his friends from past bands and a line up
that gives heart and soul for "Twelve Tones Of Love".

Chico Hamilton has performed with just about everybody in jazz, making his recording
debut with Slim Gaillard in 1941 and progressing through the ranks of jazz greats too
numerous to mention. In that same year he played for a short time with the Ellington
Orchestra. He would come back to Ellington’s music many times, The Ellington Suite
(1959 World Pacific). Not to be confused with The Original Ellington Suite released by
Blue Note Records in 2000 and featuring Eric Dolphy. This band was one of his
greatest quintets and Dolphy one of his greatest discoveries.

Maestro Hamilton is most notable for his west coast quintets that started in 1955 and
went on to 1965. The music on "Twelve Tones Of Love" is in a similar groove to that
period of time. The inclusion of some young lions gives the project a fresh face. The
band takes its cue from Chico, it’s all about melody.

“Lazy Afternoon” composed by John LaTouche and Jerome Morose features Chico
Hamilton on mallets in duet with one of his former students, vocalist Jose James. A
most touching performance, full and soulful - a great sound and feel for the song by
percussionist and vocalist alike.

The co-composition by Chico Hamilton and Jack Kelso “A Piece Of Music” weaves an
intricate and spell binding group of sounds into an image laden pictorial. Horns in
harmony wail, while cymbal waves crash upon a beach. A soft and melodic guitar
sings of times gone by with riffs that sway and flash brilliant colours.

The following track “Happiness Prevails” by E. Schwam, pulls you from a meditative
state with a fluid running hi-hat roll that bridges to a funk bass line and features
smooth, bopish saxophone runs. The song shifts meters and gradually fades to
silence. The original tune “George” keeps things swinging as trombonist George
Bohannon puts it all out there. Possibly in thanks for naming a song after him.

“Really Makes My Day” is a touching tribute to Chico Hamilton’s’ wife Helen who
passed in 2008. The song is short at just over a minute. It features the spoken voice of
Chico in a poem like recitation of a loving memory. The music floats as if on a cloud - a
saxophone and a guitar lament loves lost.

The “Alto Of Kelso” is another excellent original composition dedicated to the guest
altoist Jack Kelso who also performs on the track. The highlights of this song are the
fine guitar playing of Cary DeNigris as well as a masterful duet that finds Hamilton and
Kelso communicating in their beautiful common language of music. And so closes
Twelve Tones Of Love on an upbeat ride cymbal crash. Bravo maestro, play on.

Tracks:
A Piece Of Music, Happiness Prevails, George, Nonchalant, Lazy Afternoon, Charlie
Parker Suite, Penthouse A, On The Trail, Broadway, If You Can’t Beat ‘em Fight ‘em,
Really Makes My Day, First Light, Raoul, Steinway, I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do),
Lonely Women, Brother Bob, The Alto Of Kelso

Musicians:
Chico Hamilton (drums, vocals), Cary DeNigris (guitar), Paul Ramsey (bass), Evan
Schwam (flute, soprano, tenor saxophone), Eddie Barbash (flute, soprano, alto
saxophone), Jack Kelso, Ian Young (alto saxophone), Jeremy Carlstedt (percussion),
George Bohanon (trombone), Jose James (vocals)

Note:
Now posted on Chico's myspace page is the "Twelve Tones of Love" EPK short
video by Director Jeff Chenault of eleven07, who spent time with Chico and his crew
shooting the rehearsals and the recording session for "Twelve Tones of Love", as
well as having interviewed Chico about the recording afterwards. This EPK video
short is a precursor of Jeff Chenault's full length video memoir on Chico coming
soon!!   

Chico Hamilton EPK



Record Label Website: www.joyousshout.com

Reviewed by: Paul J. Youngman 
7:22 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, August 02, 2009 

Category: Music
New Releases 

CHICO HAMILTON "THE ALTERNATIVE DIMENSIONS OF EL CHICO" (2XLP)

CHICO HAMILTON

Finally available on vinyl!!! Alternate Mixes of the Jazz great by Joe
Claussell, Brian Bacchus, Blaze, Marc De Clive Lowe & Fertile Ground!
Moving beyond the traditional Jazz-House remix album, Chico Hamilton’s
“Alternative Dimensions of El Chico” returns the favor, featuring Chico’s
covers of house masterpieces “Je Ka Jo” and “Elevation”, which sit
comfortably with warm Latin influenced Jazz originals from the NYC
legend. Refreshingly original arrangements are compliment by the
production-savvy talents of contemporary dance music giants of today and
legend’s past, as the masterful musicianship executed by Mr. Hamilton
displays an air of youthful freedom as he playfully explores the parallels
and shared lineages of a markedly varied spectrum of influences and
musical styles. Clearly, the creative impetus to continue making
breathtaking, spiritually-awakening pieces of NYC musical perfection has
stayed aflame despite Hamilton’s aging body, and lucky for us, he’s found
new partners who, though some generations past his time, share the same
wild passion for sonic creation that inevitably demolishes the artificial
boundaries erected between different “traditions” within music such that
sounds blend freely with their own kind, free to stand solely for what they
comprise: quality music regardless of cultural or ethnic heritage.

Available EXCLUSIVELY @ www.dopejams.net.

http://www.ustem.org/dopejams/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.fly page&product_id=3861&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=33
7:20 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Monday, April 27, 2009 

Category: Music




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

04/27/2009


NEA Jazz Master Foreststorn Chico Hamilton.... HITS with Twelve Tones of
Love, taking his listeners on a musical journey of his venerable career and the
numerous people who have influenced it and celebrating his lifelong romance with
music. Eight tracks from Twelve Tones of Love are now posted on Chico's
MySpace player.

On Twelve Tones of Love, Chico looks back not as a summation but with the
past as a jumping off point to where he is now; the foundation to build off of what he
has to say in the here and now.

This album has Chico writing for and playing with an enlarged ensemble, offering us
a glimpse of his life’s journey and some of those he has shared it with. It speaks
greatly of all the musicians’ skills that they are performing Chico’s compositions
yet their interplay becomes another color on his palette, which allows him to further
embellish the picture he is painting. This is one of the appealing aspects to all of
Chico’s music, an always-organic sense of tension and release.


Guest spots include trombonist George Bohanon, who was in one of Chico’s
classic sixties ensembles; vocalist Jose James (myspace.com/josejamesquartet),
who studied under Chico at The New School’s Jazz and Contemporary Music
Program; and multi-reedist Jack Kelso, Chico’s lifelong friend.

“Twelve Tones of Love” is a celebration of a lifelong romance Chico has had
with music and the relationships that came into his life both past and present
through his service to the muse.

Those who forge their own way may travel a harder road but their art loses none of
its power with the passage of time because of these trials. “Twelve Tones of
Love” is proof of that aphorism to continuously enjoy.


From the liner notes by Maxwell Chandler

Catch Chico Hamilton’s In-Store performances of material from "Twelve Tones of
Love" EXCLUSIVELY @:

Thursday April 30th 7 PM
Borders Columbus Circle
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Tel. 212.823.9775

Order your copy of “Twelve Tones of Love” @ www.amazon.com now!!

Visit our online store to purchase YOUR autographed copies of Chico's Joyous
Shout! releases and other signed Chico Hamilton albums and memorabilia!!

Chico Hamilton is booked worldwide thru:
Concerted Efforts (chris@concertedefforts.com)
Tel. 617.969.0810

Publicity:
A.M.T. Public Relations,
april@amtpublicrelations.com
Tel. 212.861.0990

RadioPromotions:
Terry Coen/Soundview Jazz Promotions,
soundviewproduct@aol.com                                                
Tel. 203.227.2124

Thanks.
 
Peace.
 
Keep the Faith.
 
Jeffrey

10:39 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
Sunday, March 29, 2009 

Category: Music

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=31794



 

ALLABOUTJAZZ-NEW YORK
February 2009   Page 9
Chico Hamilton
JOYOUS SHOUT
by Donald Elfman






When Chico Hamilton was a boy growing up in Los Angeles, the film studios used to send trucks out to pick up the little African-American children to play natives in their Tarzan movies. “It was work, after all, and we got paid for it,” says the drummer, now 87 years of age. ”And what you learned very quickly is not to look into the camera. Once you did that they could never hire you again.” That’s a lesson that relates to Hamilton’s entire career as a musician; it’s the craft and the work that have always mattered to him and though he’s done countless things to appeal to many audiences, it’s always been about the music.

Let’s review that career a bit, because it’s truly quite extraordinary. Born Foreststorn Hamilton in East Los Angeles in 1921, he was in a big family. His mother’s heritage was Mexican, Indian and German Jewish and his father worked as a railroad porter and later, in LA, at the University Club of Southern California. It was the first Great Depression and things were tight for the Hamiltons. Says Hamilton, “Everyone was poor so we didn’t think of ourselves that way. Many ethnic groups lived together there so it wasn’t really a ghetto.”

Hamilton started playing clarinet at age eight but switched a year or so later to a set of drums that belonged to an older brother who had graduated. “I made my own drumsticks and played them on everything in the house. My parents weren’t necessarily musical but they encouraged me to play despite the fact that the church frowned on it. My mother took me to hear Duke Ellington when I was about nine and I had never seen anything like that. The band was in a pyramid and Sonny Greer was at the top. I consider him the first true percussionist - he played everything.”

Hamilton bought his first set of drums at age 12 with money he earned from shining shoes. While in junior high school, Chico competed in an “amateur hour” at a local theater and won a first prize of $50, playing with a local pianist. Hamilton went to the noted Jefferson High School where some of his celebrated schoolmates were Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Charles Mingus.

Soon, Hamilton had engagements with a wide variety of extraordinary musicians including Lionel Hampton, Slim Gaillard and Slam Stewart, T-Bone Walker, Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Billie Holiday and Gerry Mulligan. He also was part of the group backing Fred Astaire in the 1941 film You’ll Never Get Rich.

For eight years, starting in the late ‘40s, Hamilton became the drummer for Lena Horne. He remembers, “I was a ‘hotshot’ drummer on the West Coast and I worked for a dancer, Marie Bryant, who was a friend of Lena’s. When Lena needed a drummer, Marie recommended me. I had never even heard of her. I went to her house in the hills and the guy that opened the gate was this sharply dressed dude - turned out to be Luther Henderson, Lena’s pianist and musical director. We started rehearsing right away and while we were there a guy with a painter’s outfit and a can of paint came in a few times. I find out later it’s Lennie Hayton, Lena’s husband. Both he and Luther were great musicians and major mentors for me. We rehearsed and only saw Lena after about a week!”

In 1955, Chico Hamilton left the employ of Horne and went out on his own as a leader. That year he made the eponymous debut recording of a unique, chamber-like group that included Buddy Collette, Jim Hall, Carson Smith and, on cello, Fred Katz. The personnel changed over the years and showcased such notables as Paul Horn, John Pisano and Eric Dolphy.

In 1961, he revamped the group yet again, this time with Charles Lloyd, George Bohanon, Albert Stinson and Gabor Szabo. During these years, these groups made hit recordings and Hamilton did film work (he scored the Roman Polanski film Repulsion). “I had a family to feed and, besides, good music is good music. All of my work was part of a lifelong learning process.”

The latest chapter in Hamilton’s career also involved learning. As one of the original faculty members of The New School jazz program, the drummer found a way to discover and highlight another generation of great players. The group Euphoria was founded in 1987 with saxophonist Eric Person, guitarist Cary DeNigris and bassist Reggie Washington. This group’s personnel has also changed; it still features DeNigris but also includes saxophonist Evan Schwam and bassist Paul Ramsey.

The continued activity - as a teacher, bandleader, composer, recording artist and more - has been accomplished with the extraordinary and tireless work of Hamilton’s manager, Jeffrey Caddick. Based in Evansville, Indiana, Caddick booked Hamilton into a college performance many years ago and was soon his manager. Caddick says, “Chico taught two of the most valuable lessons of my life. One is what it means to give yourself unreservedly to something. He consistently crosses the line from playing music to making music. Secondly, he proves that when you create a comfortable and supportive space for others, you provide them with the opportunity to discover their own voices and personalities and then share knowledge with others. This is a remarkable act of humility.” And Hamilton notes, “Oh, man! I trust Jeffrey implicitly with everything! He even started a label [Joyous Shout] to release my music. He’s a great manager and a wonderful and caring human being.”

Some of the recent days have been difficult for Hamilton. In 2008 he lost his wife Helen and his brother Bernie. (Bernie, incidentally, was an actor, a kind of pioneer in film acting by African-Americans.) And, at 87 years old, he’s had some health problems. But, says the musician, “Hey, I’m still here! I’m blessed, man! How many guys get to do what I’ve done? I’ve played with and known some of the greatest musicians on the planet. My family has been wonderful and supportive. And I’m still writing, studying and teaching music!” So, yes, some things have been difficult, but one look at the activity of this giant lets us know how therapeutic work - and especially the work of making music - can be. Since 2001, he has released nine recordings. On those he has played with old friends Arthur Blythe, George Bohanon, Larry Coryell, Rodney Jones, Joe Beck and more. In addition he has written music for every one of those albums and has taken the opportunity to work with some of his talented students.

Three unique recordings in the Hamilton canon were released in 2008. On Trio! Live @ Artpark, the drummer is at the helm of a trio that includes stalwart guitarist DeNigris and, on a fiery Fender bass, Matthew Garrison, son of Coltrane’s famous bassist, Jimmy Garrison. The other Joyous Shout release is Dreams Come True, a rare duo session from 1993 with the late Andrew Hill. Hill and Hamilton were old friends and this collaboration had never before seen the light of day. And for a true change of pace, there is The Alternative Dimensions of El Chico, billed as “recastings from and of” Blaze, ‘Joe’ Claussell, Fertile Ground, Soul Feast, Mark De Clive-Lowe and Chico himself.

This year looks to be similarly fruitful. He and his Euphoria band play the Rubin Museum of Art this month. And April sees the release of still another new recording called Twelve Tones of Love, featuring some very special guests. First, there’s the old cohort George Bohanon on trombone. Then there’s a sterling young saxophonist/flutist from Juilliard, Eddie Barbash and a young singer José James - Chico taught him at the New School. “He’s terrific,” say both Hamilton and Caddick. Finally and possibly most surprising and exciting of all, is the appearance of Jack Kelso. “He’s my oldest friend in the world,” Hamilton says fondly,“and it’s a thrill to have recorded with him.”

The thrills of Chico Hamilton keep coming our way too.

For more information, visit joyousshout.com.

Recommended Listening:
• Gerry Mulligan - The Original Quartet with Chet Baker (Pacific Jazz-Capitol, 1952-53)
• Chico Hamilton - The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings (Pacific Jazz-Mosaic, 1954-59)
• Chico Hamilton - Passin’ Thru (Man From Two Worlds) (Impulse-GRP, 1962)
• Chico Hamilton - The Dealer (Introducing Larry Coryell) (Impulse, 1966)
• Chico Hamilton and Euphoria - My Panamanian Friend (Soul Note, 1992)
• Chico Hamilton - Believe (Joyous Shout!, 2005)

4:55 PM 
0 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate