Herbie Nichols
One of jazz's most tragically overlooked geniuses, Herbie Nichols was a highly original piano stylist and a composer of tremendous imagination and eclecticism. He wasn't known widely enough to exert much influence in either department, but his music eventually attracted a rabid cult following, though not quite the wide exposure it deserved.
Nichols was born January 3, 1919, in New York and began playing piano at age nine, later studying at C.C.N.Y. After serving in World War II, Nichols played with a number of different groups and was in on the ground floor of the bebop scene. However, to pay the bills he later focused on Dixieland ensembles; his own music -- a blend of Dixieland, swing, West Indian folk, Monk-like angularity, European classical harmonies via Satie and Bartók, and unorthodox structures -- was simply too unclassifiable and complex to make much sense to jazz audiences of the time. Mary Lou Williams was the first to record a Nichols composition -- "Stennell," retitled "Opus Z," in 1951; yet aside from the song he wrote for Billie Holiday, "Lady Sings the Blues," none of Nichols' work got enough attention to really catch on.
He signed with Blue Note and recorded three brilliant piano trio albums from 1955-1956, adding another one for Bethlehem in late 1957. Nichols languished in obscurity after those sessions, though; sadly, just when he was beginning to find a following among several of the new thing's adventurous, up-and-coming stars, he was stricken with leukemia and died on April 12, 1963. In the years that followed, Nichols became a favorite composer in avant-garde circles, with tributes to his sorely neglected legacy coming from artists like Misha Mengelberg and Roswell Rudd. He also inspired a repertory group, called the Herbie Nichols Project, and most of his recordings were reissued on CD.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
-
The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Herbie Nichols (3 CD set)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1997
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 (Audio)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2 (Audio)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Classic Albums (The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol 1 / Hebie Nichols Trio / The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol 2 / Love, Gloom, Cash, Love) [Remastered]
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 5 aug. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love, Gloom, Cash, Love (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 1 jan. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love, Gloom, Cash, Love (Original Recording Remastered 2013)
Jazz - Released by Bethlehem Records on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Herbie Nichols Trio: Complete Studio Master Takes
Jazz - Released by Lone Hill Jazz on 1 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Volume 1
Bebop - Released by Music Manager on 1 jan. 1955
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hebie Nichols Trio (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 12 aug. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Volume 2
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 1 jan. 1955
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol 1 (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Herbie Nichols Trio Recordings (Bonus Track Version)
Jazz - Released by Plenty Jazz Records on 5 jul. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Complete Prophetic Herbie Nichols (Remastered Edition)
Jazz - Released by jjjedizionimusicali on 9 feb. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Idoles Du Jazz: Herbie Nichols, Vol. 1
Jazz - Released by Mpm on 11 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol 2 (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by AVID Entertainment on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Recordings, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by Universe Remasterings on 21 okt. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Studio Master Takes
Jazz - Released by Ascension Records on 28 jul. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Herbie Nichols - Vintage Sounds
Jazz - Released by Retro Music Box on 25 jan. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Herbie Nichols: Love, Gloom, Cash, Love
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 1 jan. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo