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- Born: March 14, 1900, Pittsburgh, PA
- Died: September 16, 1964, New York, NY
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Bass
Biography
This artist's nickname technically allows him entry to two different claques: jazz artists who have been named after the instrument they play and musicians whose special moniker sounds identical to the desires of sport fishermen. The latter bit of amusement may irritate rhythm-section devotees who realize the "bass" in Ernest "Bass" Hill is not the type that flops around on a deck. To even suggest such a thing borders on offensive when the bassist in question kept distinctly non-flopping time in tandem with great swing drummers such as Chick Webb and Zutty Singleton. Hill's most frequent associate over the years was the great pianist Claude Hopkins. He provided the bassist with his first professional gigs in the summer of 1924 and Hill would rejoin Hopkins several times in that decade and in the '40s as well.Hopkins also provided the bassist with his first European tour when they accompanied the marvelous vocalist Josephine Baker overseas in 1925. Hill's later adventures on the continent include the somewhat special notoriety of being one of the few American jazzmen who hid out in Switzerland as the Second World War commenced, at least for a time. This doesn't mean he abandoned playing bass for a job drilling holes in blocks of Emmenthal cheese; rather, he became a sidekick of Alpine tenor man Mac Strittmatter before finally fleeing home in 1940. Strittmatter can be considered one of Hill's most obscure playing partners in a career that included credits with some of the biggest names, including Louis Armstrong, Hot Lips Page, Benny Carter, and Bill Coleman.
Hill also earned his nickname through his tireless activities in many early bands of historic importance if not stellar fame. These groups include Leroy Smith & His Orchestra and Bill Brown & His Brownies in 1928, the Eugene Kennedy Orchestra the following year, and in the '30s a group led by Willie Bryant and Bobby Martin's Cotton Club Serenaders. In the early '30s the bassist worked with Carter and Webb as well as trumpeter Rex Stewart. After Hill's return from Europe in the early '40s he gigged in New York City with Maurice Hubbard, Hopkins, and Singleton, sliding into the Armstrong rhythm section in 1943. From here he went back to his old pal Hopkins and in the second half of the '40s was also active with Cliff Jackson, Herbie Cowens, and Minto Kato.
Yet another extended European sojourn began in 1949, Hill hanging out primarily in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany until the beginning of 1952. He joined up with Coleman for gigs in the first two of these countries and accompanied Big Boy Goudie on tours through the rubble of postwar Germany. Hill remained active on the New York scene in the '50s with Happy Caldwell, Henry Morrison, Wesley Fagan, and many other pilgrims of classic jazz. As the decade commenced Hill's primary role in music became administrative -- in 1954 he accepted a position as delegate in the offices of the Big Apple musicians' union. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
