Milt Hinton

Bassist Milt Hinton probably appeared on more records than any other musician in the world, and he remained a vital figure in jazz even into his 80s. He grew up in Chicago and worked with many legendary figures from the late '20s to the mid-'30s, including <a href="spotify:artist:0y247K7t0JULOQuGx17ZFJ">Freddie Keppard</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:46Oxwha8XISOSTpE1bSNgQ">Jabbo Smith</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4cTA31F2VpSG0GhcWmtvor">Tiny Parham</a> (with whom he made his recording debut in 1930), <a href="spotify:artist:1E1ti7Ttt0Vq3GVCw9oHvm">Eddie South</a>, Fate Marable, and <a href="spotify:artist:29gFISSJO4GdOPOBFgXL3b">Zutty Singleton</a>. He was with Cab Calloway's orchestra and his later small group during 1936-1951. Considered the best bassist before the rise of <a href="spotify:artist:7FMFfF4dipm9bWnd4FAKDL">Jimmy Blanton</a> in 1939, Hinton was featured on "Pluckin' the Bass" (1939) and was an ally of <a href="spotify:artist:5RzjqfPS0Bu4bUMkyNNDpn">Dizzy Gillespie</a> in modernizing <a href="spotify:artist:03cwCzIWQ8BRmXjGPDAL04">Calloway</a>'s music.

After leaving <a href="spotify:artist:03cwCzIWQ8BRmXjGPDAL04">Calloway</a>, Hinton worked in clubs with <a href="spotify:artist:22vG2wpYZKQvNG7dIajDdK">Joe Bushkin</a>, had brief stints with <a href="spotify:artist:2jFZlvIea42ZvcCw4OeEdA">Count Basie</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek">Louis Armstrong's All-Stars</a>, and in 1954 became a staff musician at CBS, appearing on a countless number of recordings (jazz and otherwise) during the next 15 years; everything from <a href="spotify:artist:2F0kPpQ5mtta1ORIyO2xex">Jackie Gleason</a> mood music and polka bands, to commercials and <a href="spotify:artist:1rQ8RuN5MY5dBeBz81fIho">Buck Clayton</a> jam sessions. By the 1970s, Hinton was appearing regularly at jazz parties and festivals, and his activities did not slow down for the next two decades; in 1995, he toured with <a href="spotify:artist:5vulkwNOqf3osi7FqKOXbT">the Statesmen of Jazz</a>. Although a modern soloist, Hinton also kept the art of slap bass alive. A very skilled photographer, Hinton released two books of his candid shots of jazz musicians, including one (Bass Line) which has his fascinating memoirs. Milt Hinton recorded as a leader for Bethlehem, Victor (both in 1955), Famous Door, Black & Blue, and Chiaroscuro, and as a sideman for virtually every label. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi