Smilin' Billy

The thrill of a lifetime.

I became infatuated with jazz music in my mid-teens. I could hear the music live occasionally, but my primary resource for exploring the music was buying records called LPs for long playing. Through records, I could repeatedly listen, dissect, and try to understand the various components that made the music feel so good.

At the time, I didn’t know who many of the jazz artists making records were, so I often bought records based on prior experience. The first record I recall hearing included pianist Oscar Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Thighpin. I then went to the record store and bought a record because Ray Brown was the bassist on the back cover. A Quincy Jones record entitled Walking In Space introduced me to numerous other musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Grady Tate, and so on. Each successive record usually had one or more musicians on it that I learned of in my prior purchase. I think you can see how my record collection evolved.

Eventually, I had quite a sizable record collection and one day became aware that a marvelous drummer named Billy Higgins was often on the records I enjoyed the most. There was something special about the feeling those records instilled in me and it was obvious that Billy Higgins was the thread that connected that feeling in all those recordings.

Some years later, I got an invitation to go to Arizona and spend a week performing and presenting masterclasses for high school students throughout the state. The leader of our band was an alto saxophonist named Jamey Aebersold. He is better known in jazz education than the performance field but is a fine player nonetheless. For this occasion, he assembled a quartet that included myself on bass, James Williams on piano, and my hero, Billy Higgins, on drums. This would be my first opportunity to experience playing with Billy.

Jazz Educator/Saxophonist Jamey Aebersold.

Pianist James Williams.

In a jazz ensemble of any size or instrumentation, the connection between the bass and drums can make or break the musical result. It has been my experience that no two human beings feel pulse or time the same way. It is a very personal and deeply embedded instinct. As a result, when a bassist and drummer play together, especially for the first time, a negotiation of sorts must take place, and the sooner that negotiation is resolved, the better it is for the entire group. Essentially, one person’s rhythmic center will be either behind or ahead of the others. Therefore, some give-and-take has to be part of that negotiation so that the bassist and drummer can reach a comfortable consensus.

Me. Try to imagine me fifty pounds lighter, many years younger than I was then.

I shall now try to describe the indescribable. Mr. Aebersold counted off our first tune on the first day of our engagement, and within the first eight beats, everything seemed perfect. I felt more comfortable and buoyant than ever with any other drummer I had played with. I looked over at Billy in amazement, and his broad smile and head bobbing from side to side generated so much joy and encouragement that I felt a freedom and a sort of acceptance that was very rare. By then, Billy had played with all the greatest bassists of all time, and I felt he was playing with me like he had with them. I felt the exhilaration that one feels on a roller coaster but without any fear or uncertainty. In those first eight beats, I fell in love with him musically and in a brotherly way. He was my man forever.

With all due respect to the dozens of outstanding and unique drummers I have played with throughout my career, Billy Higgins provided me with a singular experience that has yet to be equaled. I understood why he appeared on nearly everyone’s record at one time or another and why he seldom had a night off during his entire career.

My Man. Billy Higgins.

Thank you, Billy Higgins, for showing me the power of music, communication, and humanity that this music can and must have. If I can do nothing else when I play with others from this day forward, I hope to bring a small part of his smile and feeling to the music I am trying to create with others. It is all that is good with the world and needed today more than at any other time in my life.

Have a listen:

TC