Bobby Hutcherson

Dubbed the “most accomplished vibraphonist of his generation” by the New York Times and “one of the best musicians in the world” by McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson brings his quartet to the jazz jewel box on Columbus Circle, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, February 1-3.

The elder statesman of the acclaimed SF Jazz Collective from its inception through this past season, 64-year-old Bobby Hutcherson is one of the most influential vibraphonists in jazz history. Born in Los Angeles, he first studied piano with his aunt and was influenced by his family’s interest in jazz. (His brother was a friend of Dexter Gordon and his sister, a singer, later dated Eric Dolphy.) Hearing a Milt Jackson record as a teenager spuured him to take up the vibes, studying with Dave Pike. Gigs with Curtis Amy and Charles Lloyd and a band led by Al Grey and Billy Mitchell led him to New York’s Birdland in the early 1960s. Soon he was jamming with Grant Green, Hank Mobley, and Herbie Hancock, while his unorthodox approach to harmony produced associations with the era’s experimentalists, including Jackie McLean, Grachan Moncur III, Archie Shepp, Andrew Hill, and Eric Dolphy. Now a veteran recording artist for Blue Note, Hutcherson returned to Los Angeles in 1967, where he collaborated with Harold Land. Now into a modal bop style, he played with Woody Shaw’s quintet, adding the marimba to his repertoire. In more recent years has recorded and performed with McCoy Tyner. Now living in the Bay Area where he performed with the SF Jazz Collective for its first four years, the Village Voice describes him as “mercurial, intense, and superbly inventive…the outstanding vibes player of his generation.”

Billy Drummond

The Bobby Hutcherson Quartet holds down the stage at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner complex at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, two shows each night at 7:30 and 9:30 pm; visit www.jalc.org.