Long Live Chico Hamilton!

Chico Hamilton’s been at it a long, long time. He came up playing with Dexter Gordon, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Slim Gaillard and Lester Young. Among these legends, Hamilton is the only one still around. And it doesn’t look like anything’s going to bring him down anytime soon. Hamilton is 80 years old and just came through open-heart surgery for a valve replacement with flying colors. Did I mention that he’s 80 and doesn’t look a day over 65?

While Hamilton’s schedule has been sidetracked for the near future (his appearances at the Berkshire, Chicago and Bumbershoot Jazz Festivals have been cancelled), he’s not going to let surgery keep him down. He’s treating it more like an oil change and plans on getting back into the thick of things in October to promote the September release of his new CD Thoughts Of… on the Koch label.

Thoughts Of… features Hamilton’s group Euphoria, along with special appearances by former band members Joe Beck, Larry Coryell and Rodney Jones mixing it up with all new compositions as well as covering Joe Claussell’s “Je Ka Jo” and Paul Weller’s “Bull-Rush.”

Later this fall, look for Groove Master Vol. 1: Soulfeast Presents the Chico Hamilton Remix Project, featuring remixes of Hamilton classics like “Conquistadors” and “Strut” by master wax-slicers such as Still Phil, DJ Smash, Soulfeast-Joaquin “Joe” Claussell and Brian Bacchus. Groove Master Vol. 1 will be available as a 12-inch LP and as a CD.

For more information, or just to wish Hamilton well, forward questions and comments to Hamilton’s manager Jeffrey Caddick at [email protected] or send correspondence to:

Joyous Shout

PO Box 15244

Evansville, IN 47716

Originally Published August 27, 2002