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Billy Hart
His first steady gigs of note were with Shirley Horn andBuck Hill. In the 1960’s he toured with Jimmy Smith, WesMontgomery, Eddie Harris, and Pharoah Sanders. In1970 he joined Herbie Hancock’s Sextet, and after thatband broke up in 1973 he joined first McCoy Tyner (twoyears) and then Stan Getz (four). In the 1980’s Hart was aregular with many bands and leaders: Gerry Mulligan, BillyHarper, Clark Terry, The New York Jazz Quartet, theJazztet, Mingus Dynasty and most extensively with Quest(with David Liebman, Richie Beirach, and Ron McClure).In the 1990’s Hart was a member of the Charles Lloyd,Joe Lovano, and Tom Harrell groups, and in 1999 hebegan performing with the Three Tenors (Liebman,Lovano, and Michael Brecker). He is on about 500hundred records as a sideman.
Billy Hart's own records include:
Enchance (1977, A&M Horizon) withDewey Redman, Marvin “Hannibal” Peterson, EddieHenderson, Oliver Lake, Don Pullen, Buster Williams,and Dave Holland
Such Great Friends (1983, Strata East)with Billy Harper, Stanley Cowell, and Reggie Workman.
Oshumare (1985, Gramavision) withSteve Coleman, Branford Marsalis, Didier Lockwood,Kenny Kirkland, Bill Frisell, Kevin Eubanks, Mark Grey,and Dave Holland
Great Friends (1986, Evidence) withSonny Fortune, Billy Harper, Stanley Cowell, and ReggieWorkman
Rah (1987, Gramavision) with DaveLiebman, Kenny Kirkland, Eddie Henderson, RalphMoore, Kevin Eubanks, Bill Frisell, Mark Grey, EddieGomez, Buster Williams, and Caris Visentin
Amethyst (1993, Arabesque) with JohnStubblefield, Mark Feldman, David Fiuczynski, DavidKikoski, Marc Copland, and Santi Debriano
Oceans of Time (1996, Arabesque) withJohn Stubblefield, Chris Potter, Mark Feldman, DavidFiuczynski, David Kikoski, and Santi Debriano
Since the early 1990’s Billy Hart has devoted a lot oftime to teaching.
He spends considerable time at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, but he is also adjunctfaculty at the New England Conservatory of Music and WesternMichigan University.
He also teaches private lessons through The NewSchool and New York University,
and often contributes to the Stokes ForestMusic Camp and the Dworp Summer JazzClinic in Belgium.
Billy Hart plays Pearl Drumsand Zildjian cymbals.
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David Janeway: David Janeway Trio/Live At Blue Llama
by Pierre Giroux
Live at Blue LLama by the David Janeway Trio was recorded in June 2024 at the Blue LLama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it is the kind of album that is unforced, deeply conversational, and grounded in a shared musical trust. Pianist Janeway has long valued rhythmic authority and melodic clarity over display and possesses a composer's sense of proportion. He is paired with Billy Hart, a drummer whose influence spans generations, and Robert Hurst, a bassist deeply ...
Continue ReadingBuster Williams: Pinnacle
by C. Andrew Hovan
As if producer and archival sleuth Zev Feldman weren’t already busy enough unearthing lost jazz treasures, he has recently launched a new imprint, Time Traveler. A devoted collector in his own right, Feldman has turned his attention—at least initially—to the storied catalog of Muse Records. Founded in 1972 by Joe Fields, with significant contributions from Don Schlitten, Muse weathered the shifting tides of the industry for a quarter century. While portions of the catalog have resurfaced on CD over the ...
Continue ReadingThe Billy Hart Quartet featuring Ethan Iverson at Blues Alley
by Robert Bellafiore
The Billy Hart Quartet featuring Ethan Iverson Blues Alley Washington, DC May 3, 2026 Elder statesman of the drums, contributor to Miles Davis's On the Corner (Columbia, 1972), and Washington, DC, native: Billy Hart was the perfect figure to feature in a centennial celebration of Miles Davis at DC's Blues Alley. Hart has been leading a quartet with saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street for some 20 years, but in a twist ...
Continue ReadingBuster Williams: Pinnacle
by Andrew Schinder
Bass legend Buster Williams has built a long, prolific career traversing the innerwebs of diverse jazz styles and sub-genres, developing into a beloved sideman and one of the finest rhythmists of jazz's modern period. Williams' bass can elevate any material, and he has contributed to some of the most treasured recordings in the jazz canon, in particular supporting Kenny Barron, Woody Shaw and, of course, Herbie Hancock. But Williams has an exceptional discography of his own, if a bit overshadowed by ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet and BlankFor.ms with Jason Moran and Marcus Gilmore at the Long Play Festival
by Paul Reynolds
Billy Hart Quartet and BkankFor.ms with Jason Moran/Marcus Gilmore Roulette Long Play Festival New York, NY May 1, 2026 It's the “most important classical music festival in New York City," according to the New York Times. Yet the programmers for the Long Play Festival in Brooklyn also have big ears. Woven between Long Play's 40-plus classical performances this year--mostly of the contemporary classical bent of Bang on a Can, the festival organizer--were a smattering of ...
Continue ReadingYelena Eckemoff: Lions
by Tyran Grillo
Pianist Yelena Eckemoff, a melodic marvel whose gift for atmosphere has been apparent from the beginning, has never felt comfortable settling into a single definition. Rooted in classicalism yet never bound by its strictures, she has carved a singular path through the world of jazz, guided by a restless imagination that treats genre as porous terrain rather than fenced land. Her music arises from a place where labels dissolve and instinct takes over, a place recognized immediately by tender-minded musicians ...
Continue ReadingNew Music From Hart, Gratkowski, Rahn, Smith And More
by Bob Osborne
This playlist delves deep into the vibrant landscape of contemporary independent jazz and improvised music, showcasing an eclectic mix of sounds that defy easy categorization. From the rhythmic sophistication of Latin fusion and the intricate melodies of modern piano trios to boundary-pushing avant-garde improvisations, the selections deliberately cross genre lines. The journey takes listeners through structured compositions released on labels like Smoke Sessions and Harmony Pacific, into the raw, unscripted dialogues found in the catalogues of Relative Pitch and Klanggalerie. ...
Continue ReadingAnnouncing Smoke Jazz Club's Line-up Of Shows In November 2025 Including The Billy Hart Quartet’s New Album Celebration, Pianists Joey Alexander And Bill Charlap, And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Hailed as the “#1 Jazz Club in New York City (SecretNYC),” SMOKE Jazz Club today announced its concert schedule for November 2025. The NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart celebrates his Quartet’s first live recording Multidirectional in a three-night album release celebration during Thanksgiving weekend. Across consecutive weeks, SMOKE presents two highly regarded pianists spanning the spectrum from rising voices to time-honored masters: the precocious 22-year-old Joey Alexander followed by veteran Bill Charlap. Other highlights this month include the return of ...
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Bill O'Connell New Release 'Live In Montauk' (Savant Records) Featuring Randy Brecker, Billy Hart, Craig Handy And Santi Debriano! Release Date: June 23rd
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
Montauk—the easternmost point of Long Island—has enjoyed a reputation as an idyllic land of the lotus and poppy but now is fully woven in to the Hamptons summer scene. The charms and views associated with that coastal existence served as a backdrop for the creation of this recording. Notable for a number of reasons—as the first live band date in a lengthy discography, and a first on-record meeting with drumming icon Billy Hart—this Bill O’Connell session stands out. Recorded live ...
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Beginning June 13, Streaming Live At The Village Vanguard
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Streaming Live at the Village Vanguard Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons beginning June 13 On February 22, 2020 the Village Vanguard, the world’s oldest continuously operated jazz club, marked its 85th year in the basement at 178 7th Avenue South in New York City. On March 16th the club closed its doors indefinitely. On Saturday, June 13th at 7 p.m. EDT the club will present its very first livestream with The Billy Hart Quartet featuring Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson and ...
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In Touch Entertainment Announces Its Fall/Winter Jazz Series Lineup at Zinc and Vitello’s
Source:
Decibel
In Touch Entertainment has announced the Fall/Winter lineup of its highly successful jazz series held in a legendary New York music venue, Zinc. The programs consist of Piano Jazz, Guitar Masters, Trumpet Masters, Percussion Masters, Boss Tenors, Dangerous Rhythms, and Vocal Mania. The latter is also running concurrently on the West Coast, with performances held at Vitello’s Jazz and Supper Club in Studio City, CA. In addition to instrument and voice-centric programs started this spring, In Touch also launched a ...
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Enter the "Billy Hart - All Our Reasons" Giveaway at All About Jazz!
Source:
All About Jazz
All About Jazz members are invited to enter the ECM Records “Billy Hart - All Our Reasons“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on April 30th. Click here to enter the contest (Following Billy Hart at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at ECM Records About All Our Reasons: First ECM recording of a quartet formed in 2003. Originally billed as the Ethan Iverson-Mark Turner ...
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Adam Kolker Quartet Featuring Billy Hart, Bruce Barth & John Hébert, January 3 at Iridium in New York City
Source:
Scott Foster
The Adam Kolker Quartet Featuring Billy Hart, Bruce Barth & John Hébert will perform January 3 at Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. Adam Kolker, a critically acclaimed jazz composer, tenor saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, bass clarinetist and Sunnyside Records artist, also leads the Adam Kolker Quartet Featuring John Abercombie. Drummer Billy Hart has appeared on more than 150 records, including Miles Davis' “On the Corner" and Herbie Hancock's “Sextant," as well as eleven records as a leader. Pianist Bruce ...
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Capsule Reviews: Billy Hart, Albert Ayler, JD Allen
Source:
Music and More by Tim Niland
Billy Hart—Sixty Eight (Steeplechase, 2011) Drummer Billy Hart leads a fine group consisting of Jason Palmer on trumpet, Logan Richardson on alto saxophone, Michael Pinto on vibraphone, Dan Tepfer on piano and Chris Tordini on bass. They play fine mix of adventurous mid-60's centered hard bop and thoughtful ballads. The focus on ensemble play, with fine group playing, and no heroes trying to dominate the music. There's a great setlist, playing songs from the likes of Eric Dolphy, “Number Eight" ...
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Jazz Flutist Ilona Kudina Releases "Nothing But Illusion" with drummer Billy Hart, trumpeter Greg Hopkins, pianist Vardan Ovsepian and bassist Akili Jamal Haynes
Source:
Sue Auclair Promotions
The Ilona Kudina Jazz Quintet Set to Perform at Scullers Jazz Club Tuesday, April 6, 2011, 8 PM Boston, MA—Ilona Kudina, who hails from the tiny Republic of Latvia and who has been living in Boston since 2001, is a fine flutist Informed by rigorous childhood classical training in Europe but equally comfortable in jazz genres. Her impeccable classical performances have been recorded on several CDs and she has been heard in many classical and jazz concerts throughout the Greater ...
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Assaf Kehati Trio Featuring Legendary Drummer, Billy Hart. June in Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD.
Source:
Michael Ricci
Assaf Kehati Trio featuring legendary drummer, Billy Hart will perform on June 4th and 5th at Twins Jazz in Washington, DC. Playing at 9pm and 11pm each night. The trio will also perform on June 6th at An Die Musik Live in Baltimore, MD. Playing at 5pm and 7pm.
Tickets ($20 in DC and $15/$10 students in MD) are available at the following links:
Twins Jazz
An Die Musik Live
“Israel- born, Boston resident guitarist Assaf Kehatis group grabs a ...
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Billy Hart Quartet (Fri-Sun) at the Iridium Jazz Club Sets at 8:30 & 10:30PM
Source:
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
Ernst Bier
drums
Tommaso Cappellato
drums
Rufus Reid
bass, acoustic
Rob Garcia
drums
Michael Stephans
drums
Massimo de Majo
drums
Marco Moura
guitar
Aaron Dolman
drums
KEITO NAKANO
drums
Mariane Bitran
flute
Mecadon McCune
drumsPhotos
Music
Showdown
From: MultidirectionalBy Billy Hart
Agra
From: Plays Ellington & StrayhornBy Billy Hart
Someone to Watch Over Me
From: Standards IIBy Billy Hart
With A Little Help From My Friends
From: BridgesBy Billy Hart
Do Nothing till You Hear From Me
From: Live In MontaukBy Billy Hart
Midnight Silence
From: DoctoneBy Billy Hart
The Miss
From: For NowBy Billy Hart
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Billy Hart
Instrument: Drums
Born: November 29, 1940
Management: The AMI Agency
