BIOGRAPHY
Billy Higgins, born October 11, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, was an American jazz drummer best known for his free jazz and hard bop drumming styles.
Higgins started working with Ornette Coleman in 1958, playing drums on several of Colemans first records. As a freelance drummer, Higgins focused playing mainly with hard bop and other post-bop players such as Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Milt Jackson, Jackie McLean, Pat Metheny, Hank Mobley, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, David Murray, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Mal Waldron, and Cedar Walton. He was one of the house drummers for Blue Note Records and played on dozens of Blue Note albums in the 1960s.
Higgins' recording credits, which included rock and funk albums as well as 9 albums as leader, totalled over 700 recordings. On screen drumming performances include Billy Higgins as the jazz drummer in the 2000 movie, Southlander — Diary of a Desperate Musician.
Billy died of kidney failure on May 3, 2001 in Inglewood, California; he was 64.
