Frank Hewitt

He appeared in the Living Theater's landmark production of “The Connection,” and played with Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, John Coltrane, among a long list of notables. Musicians acknowledge him as a master, and the most under-recognized bebop pianist of his generation. His influences were Elmo Hope, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk. At Smalls, he influenced a generation of contemporary artists, and pianists from around the world came to hear him.

His few recordings are sought-after collector's items among musicians in New York. After his death, however, his trio recordings began to surface on Smalls Records: “We Loved You,” “Not Afraid to Live,” “Fresh from the Cooler,” and “Out of the Clear Black Sky,” and the quintet date “Four Hundred Saturdays.”

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