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Buck Hill

Buck Hill is a living legend, who has been dazzling audiences for over forty years. Born in 1927, Buck Hill started playing saxophone at the age of 13. By the mid-fifties, he was married with three children and supporting them by driving a cab and delivering mail. Despite the family demands, he continued to practice and perform. He was discovered by Charlie Byrd and became a regular on the local jazz circuit, appearing with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Shirley Horn. In 1957, he appeared on his first recording with Charlie Byrd and later appeared on numerous recordings with Shirley Horn on the Verve label. As a result of the dominance of rock music in the sixties, Buck went back to work for the post office. He continued to perform and devoted himself to teaching. Many years later, one of his most successful students, renowned drummer Billy Hart, arranged for Buck to begin his solo recording career with Danish company Steeplechase. “This Is Buck Hill” and “Scope” saw the collaboration of Buck with jazz greats Kenny Barron and Ray Brown. His performances and recordings received great critical success through the Village Voice and the New York Post. Yet throughout all of his success, he refused to give up his day job as a postman, thus leading to the moniker, the ‘Wailin’ Mailman.’ And that’s where you’ll find Buck in the annals of jazz history. In the fall of 2000, Buck released “Uh Huh! Live at Montpelier” on the JazzMont label. Buck has been a staple of the local jazz scene at the Montpelier Arts Center since 1985. Eric Brace of the Washington Post said this record contained “…eight original compositions that are so melodically complete and so structurally satisfying that I wonder if they might become standards someday.” Since then Buck has performed at the Kennedy Center and the East Coast Jazz Festival. He still gigs regularly at the One Step Down. If you haven’t seen him play, you really should. How often do you get to see a legend? Let alone, one that delivered your mail.


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Profile

Buck Hill

Read "Buck Hill" reviewed by Elliott Simon


Our nation's capitol once had a vibrant and creative jazz scene centered on and around U Street. Home to the fabled Howard Theatre, one of the first African-American venues to feature major jazz talent, the U Street area boasted many clubs and an innovative landscape that rivaled any city in the country. The place during the '30s and through the '50s in which Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald honed their crafts, the Howard and its environs were a national jazz ...

172
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


The return of tenor saxohonist Buck Hill as a leader has taken more than fifteen years. His storied career in the Washington, DC area is relatively well known. Deciding to stay at home and retain his “day job" as a postal carrier, Hill sacrified a future in jazz which surely would have taken him to a more musically rewarding place by now.

After forty-plus years working for US Postal Service, Buck Hill has resumed his recording career with ...

390
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Ken Hohman


Most times, our exposure to jazz musicians is limited to those who are lucky enough to play jazz as a full-time gig, whether they're supported by a major label, an academic institution or a rich uncle with a love for jazz. Tenor saxophonist Buck Hill, a working-class jazz musician, was never anyone's charity case. Like his late friend and fellow DC jazz artist Shirley Horn, Hill put jazz on the back burner to support his kids. For decades, he worked ...

204
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Jim Santella


Buck Hill brings back the fine taste of the organ combo with his quartet on Relax, interpreting standards and originals with the blues on his mind. Feelings run deep as tenor saxophone, organ and guitar alternate solo spots that run passionately through ballad territory and driving romps.

Hill first recorded in 1957. The Washington, DC native worked with Charlie Byrd, Shirley Horn, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. However, the need to have a steady income in order to ...

178
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


A recent review of a book by a 26-year-old author noted that the only problem with the work was that the author had “not lived long enough or suffered enough. This sentiment is easily extended to music. Give me a grizzled veteran from the chitlin' circuit instead of a Julliard graduate anytime. Washington DC Tenor saxophonist Buck Hill is eighty years old and has not recorded as a leader in fifteen years. There is certainly a story behind that, and ...

177
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Time has not effaced the grace or diminished the power of Buck Hill, who returns after a fifteen-year absence with this remarkable new recording. The tenor man recruited two old bandmates, Jerry Jones (drums) and John Ozment (Hammond A100), plus Paul Pieper (guitar), to create music that breathes passion and invention into every song.

Hill, who is 78, still has command over his instrument. He does not waste a note, investing each one with a clear idea and ...

403
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Relax has an old-school feeling, like a Blue Note album from the sixties. It's a straight-ahead sound, with Buck Hill's brawny, relaxed tenor saxophone in the embrace of a fine organ trio. I compare it to an “album" in part because there's a two-sided feeling to the eight songs.

“Side one" opens with a with the Hill-penned “RH Blues," a fresh-sounding up-tempo romp featuring a fluidly stinging guitar solo by Paul Pieper, followed by John Ozment's rippling Hammond work and ...

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174

Performance / Tour

Buck Hill 80th Birthday Bash at the Smithsonian Jazz Caf Friday, February 16th

Buck Hill 80th Birthday Bash at the Smithsonian Jazz Caf Friday, February 16th

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Buck Hill 80th Birthday Bash at the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe

Buck's Acclaimed New CD Buck Hill Relax (Severn Records 0039) The Grammy Awards were handed out last night, and we've got an award- winning lineup at the Jazz Cafe this Friday, February 16th as we celebrate the 80th birthday of DC jazz legend Buck Hill. Buck and his quartet will provide the musical entertainment, and they will be joined throughout the evening by other jazz luminaries, ...

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Recording

Buck Hill Free a Download of the Day at AllAboutJazz.com

Buck Hill Free a Download of the Day at AllAboutJazz.com

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

This message is to let you know that the following track is now being featured as a Free Download of the Day at AllAboutJazz.com:

“RH Blues" by Buck Hill

More details here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=1561

Catch Buck Live

In Celebration Of His New CD Relax (Severn Records)

August 21st Blues Alley Blues Alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW Washington, DC 20007 Tel: (202) 337-4141 http://www.bluesalley.com/ Buck Hill ...

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Performance / Tour

Buck Hill Upcoming Appearances In Celebration Of His New CD "Relax" (Severn Records)

Buck Hill Upcoming Appearances In Celebration Of His New CD "Relax" (Severn Records)

Source: All About Jazz

Severn Records Is Pleased To Announce Upcoming Appearances For Buck Hill In Celebration Of His New CD Relax (Severn Records)

August 5th Sabang Restaurant Sabang Restaurant 2504 Ennalls Avenue Wheaton MD 20902 301-942-7859

August 21st Blues Alley Blues Alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW Washington, DC 20007 Tel: (202) 337-4141

Buck Hill Relax Severn Records 0039

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Radio

Freedom Jazz Dance This Sunday: Buck Hill, Odean Pope and more

Freedom Jazz Dance This Sunday: Buck Hill, Odean Pope and more

Source: All About Jazz

Dig the new FJD web site at www.freedomjazzdance.net and tune into Freedom Jazz Dance this Sunday from 5-7 on 90.1 FM. 5 - 7 PM Sunday WDCE 90.1 FM Listen via streamcast at www.wdce.org 804-289-UR90 Studio Join me this Sunday for Freedom Jazz Dance--- modern jazz from bebop to freebop and beyond---on 90.1 FM WDCE www.wdce.org, live from the beautiful campus of the University of Richmond. This week I'll be featuring new exploratory jazz ...

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Performance / Tour

Buck Hill Upcoming Appearances In Celebration Of His New CD "Relax" on Severn Records

Buck Hill Upcoming Appearances In Celebration Of His New CD "Relax" on Severn Records

Source: All About Jazz

Severn Records Is Pleased To Announce Upcoming Appearances For Buck Hill In Celebration Of His New CD Relax (Severn Records)

June 30th and July 1st Twins Jazz 1344 U. St. NW Washington, DC 20009 Tel: 202-234-0072

July 8th and July 20th HR-57 1610 Fourteenth Street NW Washington, DC 202-667-3700

July 20th National Museum of ...

Carl Cornwell
saxophone, tenor

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Relax

Severn Records
2007

buy

Relax

Severn Records
2006

buy

RH Blues

From: Relax
By Buck Hill

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