Hilton Ruiz | |
|---|---|
 Hilton Ruiz in November 1976 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 29, 1952 New York City |
| Died | June 6, 2006 (aged 54) New Orleans |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1960–2006 |
| Associated acts | Roland Kirk, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria |
Hilton Ruiz (May 29, 1952 – June 6, 2006) was an American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player. He was of Puerto Rican descent.
Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of five after being inspired by Duke Ellington. [1] At the age of eight he performed Mozart at Carnegie Hall. [2]
In high school Ruiz studied jazz piano with Mary Lou Williams. In 1973 he was a sideman for Roland Kirk, then later for Clark Terry. He also worked with Betty Carter, Tito Puente, and Mongo Santamaría. He co-wrote a music instruction book, Jazz and How to Play It. [3] He appeared on the soundtrack to Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors . [4]
On May 19, 2006, Ruiz was found unconscious on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where he had gone to shoot a video to promote a recently recorded project with M27 Records benefiting the victims of Hurricane Katrina entitled "Goin' Back to New Orleans". The police filed a report that he had injured himself in an accidental fall. Ruiz was hospitalized in a coma [5] and died without regaining consciousness a week after his 54th birthday. Ruiz was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey. [4]
He was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in New York City.
With Paquito D'Rivera
With Greg Abate
With Afro Blue Band
With George Coleman
With Art Davis
With Chico Freeman
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Rahsaan Roland Kirk
With Abbey Lincoln
With Tisziji Munoz
Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his friend and mentor and helped him defect from Cuba while on tour with the United Nations Orchestra. Sandoval became an American naturalized citizen in 1998. His life was the subject of the film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000) starring Andy García.
Michel Camilo is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Art Tatum.
Humberto "Tito" Nieves is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s.
Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" is a Latin jazz percussionist.
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RMM Records, also known as RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label established in 1987 and based in New York City. The label was most active during the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced primarily salsa, Latin jazz, and merengue music. At its peak, RMM Records employed 55 staff members and had distribution deals in 42 cities around the world, occupying 9,000 square feet in two floors at its Soho headquarters. The label was established by Fania Records promoter Ralph Mercado, who had established RMM Management in 1972 as an artist management and booking agency, providing bookings for Latin artists Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Ray Barretto.
Steve Berrios was an American jazz drummer and percussionist born in New York City.
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Sonny Bravo, born Elio Osacar, is an Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin jazz pianist. He was once a very good baseball player with many prospects born in New York, New York, though due to an injury in 1956 he sought out a career in music. It was then he started performing with Many Campo, El Casino de Miami, José Fajardo and many others. He also recorded with Tito Puente and Bobby Paunetto.
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is a Cuban drummer and percussionist. He has played alongside Latin jazz pianists such as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdés, Eddie Palmieri and Hilario Durán.
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Steppin' Into Beauty is an album by pianist Hilton Ruiz collecting performances recorded in 1977 at the sessions that produced Excition and New York Hilton which was released on the Danish label SteepleChase in 1982.
Rhythm in the House is an album by pianist Hilton Ruiz with special guest Tito Puente recorded in 1998 and released on TropiJazz label, a subsidiary of the Latin music label, RMM.
