Music
Lonnie Hillyer
1940–1985 · jazz trumpeter
Detroit-raised bebop trumpeter who began studying with Barry Harris at 14 and spent more than a decade in Charles Mingus's bands.
- Born
Monroe, Georgia- Died
New York City
aged 45- Detroit years
- 1943–1960
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Hillyer's family moved from Georgia to Detroit when he was three, and he grew up in the city's thriving postwar jazz scene. At fourteen he began studying with pianist Barry Harris, the neighborhood mentor who taught bebop harmony to a whole generation of young Detroit players, and he formed a lasting friendship with saxophonist Charles McPherson, a fellow student. Deeply influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, he moved to New York in 1960 and worked with Charles Mingus, Yusef Lateef and drummer Clifford Jarvis. His association with Mingus lasted more than ten years and is heard on albums such as My Favorite Quintet (1966) and Let My Children Hear Music (1972). In 1966 he and McPherson formed their own quintet, and around 1983 he co-founded Bebop Quintessence with former Monk saxophonist Charlie Rouse and fellow Detroiter Hugh Lawson. He also played with Monk, Art Blakey and Philly Joe Jones. He died of cancer in 1985, aged 45.
Highlights
- Studied with Barry Harris in Detroit from age 14
- Member of Charles Mingus's groups for over a decade from 1960
- Co-led a quintet with Charles McPherson from 1966
- Co-founded Bebop Quintessence with Charlie Rouse (about 1983)