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Style: Jazz
Origin: USA
Touring party: 5
Territory: Exclusive for G/A/S, in coop MMA
Availability:  Summer, Fall 2010

NEA Jazz Masters BOBBY HUTCHERSON & CEDAR WALTON QUARTET
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, Cedar Walton – piano, David Williams – bass, Al Foster – drums.
Available dates: July & August 2010

Line up: Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Joey Gilman (piano), Dwayne Burno (bass), Eddie Marshall (drums)

". . . one of the best musician’s in the world.". - McCoy Tyner

“...the picture of cool, except for his arms and hands, which were blurs of movement that work magic, playing the vibes in both senses of the word. Hutcherson is one of the world's greatest marimba players, too," - San Francisco Chronicle

"…His last several [albums] have been tributes to the endless improvisational possibilities within structure.. . set firmly in the tradition . . . the music suddenly takes on other meanings [and] seems like an example of how to be elegant and thoughtful in everyday life, how to overcome the grime and dirt and loss we all experience." - Peter Watrous, New York Times

Bobby Hutcherson is the most accomplished vibraphonist of his generation. He is a master of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic improvisation on both the vibes and the marimba. He has performed or recorded with nearly every major living jazz musician.

Born in Los Angeles in 1941, and raised in Pasadena, Hutcherson took a few piano lessons at an early age. But, he says, "I only played piano for my own enjoyment." Returned to the vibes after hearing the music of Milt Jackson. "One day I was walking down the street and I heard one of his records and that started it I have never tried to directly copy his style, but he's been a great influence on me…” He briefly studied the vibes with Dave Pike.

While still a teenager, Hutcherson worked around Los Angeles with such top musicians as Charles Lloyd and Curtis Amy. In 1960 he toured the country with a group led by AI Grey and BilIy Mitchell before settling in New York in 1961. He worked on and off with Jackie McLean for a year, quickly earning a reputation for his full, fresh sound on an instrument that was still a rarity in jazz. From the 1960's he played with some of the leading New York players, such as Hank Mobley, Archie Shepp, Eric Dolphy, Charles Tolliver, Herbie Hancock and Grachan Moncur, III. He began recording as a sideman during this period, appearing on records with Dolphy, McLean, Hancock, Tony Williams, Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, McCoy Tyner and Grant Green.

In 1964, at the age of 23, Hutcherson won the Downbeat critic's poll as "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" on the vibes. The following year he played with Gil Fuller's big band at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and cut his first recording as a leader, Dialogue, on the Blue Note label. He continued to record with Blue Note for the next twelve years. From 1967 to 1971 he led a quintet with Harold Land. Among those who belonged to the group as sidemen were the pianists Chick Corea, Stanley Cowell, and Joe Sample; the double bass players Reggie Johnson and Albert Stinson; and the drummers Donald Bailey and Billy Higgins.

Hutcherson moved to San Francisco in 1971 and won the International Jazz Critic's Poll as the "World's Best Vibest." During the '70s and '80s he performed and recorded regularly as a guest or co-leader, appearing on records with McCoy Tyner, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. He signed with Columbia in 1978 & and recorded the highly acclaimed Highway One Conception: The Gift of Love and Un Poco Loco. In 1979 he performed as part of an all-star jazz group at the historic Havana Jam Music Festival in Cuba. From 1981 he toured internationally and made recordings as a member of the Timeless All-Stars, with Harold Land, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams and Billy Higgins.

In 1985, when veteran producer Orrin Keepnews launched his adventurous new jazz label, Landmark Records, the first release was Hutcherson's Good Bait. He has gone on to record Color Schemes, In the Vanguard, Cruisin' the Bird, Ambos Mundos and Mirage on the Landmark Label. In 1986 he was featured in the Warner Brothers release, Round Midnight along with Dexter Gordon and Herbie Hancock.

In 1994, on the Blue Note label, he recorded Manhattan Moodes, a duo recording with McCoy Tyner. This is a collaboration that has continued to wow Jazz Audiences for over a decade.  In 2003 – he again recorded with McCoy Tyner on Land of Giants (Telarc Records).  The tour that followed this recording along with Charnott Moffett on bass and Eric Harland on drums resulted in some of the most stunning music in recent jazz memory.

In 1999 Bobby Hutcherson recorded the critically acclaimed CD Skyline for Verve Records.  Skyline's all-star alignment, with pianist Geri Allen, bassist Christian McBride, drummer AI Foster, and special guest saxophonist Kenny Garrett, exemplifies the high standards to which Hutcherson holds himself, as well as his penchant for testing himself in new waters.

In 2006 Bobby Hutcherson is prominently featured on a recording with Joey DeFrancesco (Concord Records) titled “Organic Vibes”.

Today – aside from appearing as a special guest with McCoy Tyner and Joey DeFrancesco, Bobby Hutcherson tours with his quartet that features some of the elite jazz artists of today including Renee Rosnes, Geoff Keezer, Dwayne Bruno, Jeff Chambers, Willie Jones III, and Eddie Marshall.

Of his approach to music and life today Bobby Hutcherson states:   "I want to squeeze as much life as I can into the day and at the end of the day, when I'm exhausted, I say 'Well. I don't think I can do any more today, I’ll start again tomorrow',”  "I'm in a different phase of my life right now and really enjoying where I am," Hutcherson says. "With music, I found something that I could devote the rest of my life to. If I hear people talking about how they want to make a record and make a lot of money, I want to say 'No, no, no, no. no. That's not what it's about. You're rich already, just to be involved in this music. How about the thrill of participating instead of vying for a certain position? Enjoy being tossed around in the sphere of life and love being tumbled around inside that bowl. Jockeying for position to get on top of that bowl is a dangerous proposition. I just want to be able to walk into a room, go about my business and leave, having caused the whole room to change."