Billy Hart: A Hart of a Drummer

AAJ Staff

Contributor since 1995

Various staff members.

Recent articles (1,149 total)

Published: April 11, 2006

Now because I know that when I leave Jimmy Smith, because I'm leaving now, now I'm not only in love with Coltrane I'm in love with Ornette. I want to do that. When I leave that, before I can get it together to move to New York, I get with Wes Montgomery—for the same reasons. Then the next thing you know, Wes dies, but I did get a chance to move to New York. Now I'm playing with Pharoah Sanders, and that's what I really want to do! But then I get this call from Eddie Harris for the same thing [as what I had done with Jimmy Smith and Wes]. So, I end up with Eddie Harris. I finally leave Eddie Harris and make a few more records with Pharoah Sanders because that's the closest thing I can do to Coltrane, although Coltrane actually asked me to join the band—I was just terrified. He wanted me and Rashied...

AAJ: ....After Elvin left.

BH: Yeah, because I was always there.

AAJ: I was going to ask what drummers you were shadowing as other drummers have shadowed you...

BH: I love Coltrane! I love Coltrane. I love Coltrane!

AAJ: So, did you ever get an opportunity to play with him?

BH: No, he asked me. I just couldn't do it. I didn't have the courage, what it takes. And that's important to have that kind of courage. That's another thing about why I'm not what I am, because that's important to have that kind of courage.

AAJ: To know when you have it too, to know your limitations at a certain time and what you can handle...

BH: But Rashied wasn't the first, there were some cats in Washington that ended up joining the original [New Thing]...like I went to college with [alto saxophonist] Marion Brown. So, he came back from New York, and said, "Man, there's something different going on. I know you like Elvin and Tony, but there's a guy named Sunny Murray that you better take a look at.

So because of him, I was able to check out him and Albert Ayler. I would come to town with Jimmy, and I would go looking for these guys. I would say, "Ah-hah! As much as I knew about Higgins and Blackwell, Blackwell began to show me and tutor. Blackwell's a teacher, he taught Higgins. He likes to show you. So, he showed me. Then of course Rashied goes with Coltrane. Now, that's everything, that's the New Thing and he's with Coltrane. That's the way I want to play. In fact that's one of the problems I began to have with Jimmy is that I was young and crazy enough to say, "But I'm going to do some of this. He said, "Oh God!

I remember [drummer] Papa Jo Jones came and sat in and he said, "Why can't you guys be like this? What's wrong with you guys that you want to...[laughs] So, anyways, there was Rashied and Coltrane, and my love for that. So, I just followed John all the way into that. So what happened after that? I had just moved to New York, I played with Pharoah [Sanders] and Eddie Harris, then I was the hot new cat on the block for a minute. Within about two months, I ended up making a record with Marian McPartland first, and who was next— I guess it was McCoy [Tyner]. I did Asante (Blue Note, 1970) with McCoy. Then I don't know why they couldn't find Jack [DeJohnette], but I got a call on my phone—as I was walking out to McPartland's gig—from [Joe] Zawinul. They were all in the studio, so I did Zawinul's record Zawinul (Atlantic 1970). Then I ended up doing Herbie's [Hancock] record Mwandishi (Warner Bros.1970). Then I did Odyssey of Iska [Blue Note, 1970] with Wayne [Shorter] all in that same period of time. And then I ended up with Herbie's band. So, without going any further, hopefully that answers your question...

AAJ: The only aspect, that maybe I'm unaware of, is what about any experience you may have had in big bands?

BH: Whoops. Let me tell you about Herbie Hancock. He ended up getting David Rubinson because he was so advanced. The only problem as far as I'm concerned—Weather Report, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie and those guys: Tony [Williams] and Herbie—those guys, that's their vision; the commercialized version gets to be that the real seed of all that is Herbie and Tony. I was there, so that's my viewpoint. So why am I saying that? OK, so I'm in Herbie's band, I'm joining Herbie. The first day of the gig, David Rubinson puts his arm around my shoulder when nobody's looking and says, "I'm so happy you're here. I've been telling Herbie to get a rock and roll drummer. Even with that, it was like my crossover ability that followed me! None of these guys now think of me like that. In fact, I never really played consistent bebop vocabulary until I joined Stan Getz, which is a reward in itself because so many people had jumped on that other bandwagon. There was no Lewis Nash or any of those guys then. I was the only one—maybe me and Al Foster, so that's how I ended up making thirty-three records when I left Stan Getz. I had learned that vocabulary.