Forest "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He became well-known as a supporting musician for famous artists such as Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton later became a bandleader, first leading a group of five musicians that included a cello as the main instrument, a rare choice for a jazz band back then. He also led bands that performed cool jazz, post bop, and jazz fusion.

Biography

Foreststorn Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California, one of three brothers, one of whom was actor Bernie Hamilton.

Hamilton began his career in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette, and Jack Kelso before finishing high school. Performances with Lionel Hampton, Slim & Slam, T-Bone Walker, Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Billie Holiday, Gerry Mulligan, and Lena Horne helped build his career.

Hamilton appeared in the film You'll Never Get Rich (1941) as part of the backing group supporting Fred Astaire. He also performed on the soundtrack of the film Road to Bali (1952), starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

In 1955, Hamilton recorded his first album as a leader with George Duvivier (double bass) and Howard Roberts (guitar) for Pacific Jazz. That same year, he formed an unusual quintet in Los Angeles, featuring a cello, flute/saxophone/clarinet, guitar, bass, and drums. This group was described as one of the last important West Coast jazz bands.

The original members included flutist/saxophonist/clarinetist Buddy Collette, guitarist Jim Hall, cellist Fred Katz, and bassist Jim Aton, who was later replaced by Carson Smith. From 1957 to 1960, Hamilton continued to tour with different musicians. A version of the quintet with flutist Paul Horn appeared in the film Sweet Smell of Success (1957), where Hamilton had a small speaking role with Tony Curtis. Another version with Eric Dolphy appeared in Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960), a film about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.

In 1961, Hamilton reorganized his group with Charles Lloyd, Gábor Szabó, George Bohanon, and Albert Stinson. This group played a style of jazz called "chamber jazz," which included some experimental elements. The group recorded for Columbia, Reprise, and Impulse Records and also made the soundtrack for the industrial film Litho (1962), the first American film shown behind the Iron Curtain.

In 1965, Hamilton started a commercial and film production company. He later scored the feature films Repulsion (1965), Mr. Ricco (1975), Coonskin (1975), By Design (1982), and television programs such as Portrait of Willie Mays and Gerald McBoing-Boing. He also created music for hundreds of TV and radio commercials.

In 1986, Hamilton formed his sextet, Chico Hamilton and the Young Alto's, featuring Kenneth Lampl, Eric Person, and Marc Bernstein. The group performed at the 1986 JVC Jazz Festival, the Apollo Theater, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2001, Hamilton released an album titled Foreststorn featuring Euphoria, with Cary DeNigris on guitar, Paul Ramsey on bass, Eric Lawrence on alto and soprano sax, and Evan Schwam on tenor sax. Notable guests also joined the recording. That same year, he performed My Funny Valentine: A Tribute to Chico Hamilton at Lincoln Center.

In 1997, Hamilton received the Beacons in Jazz Award from the New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music Programs for his contributions to jazz. In 2002, he was honored with the WLIU-FM Radio Lifetime Achievement Award. At the IAJE in New York City in January 2004, he was awarded a NEA Jazz Master Fellowship. In December 2006, Congress confirmed his nomination to the President's Council on the Arts. In 2007, he received a Living Legend Jazz Award at the Kennedy Center's Jazz in Our Time Festival and was also awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts from The New School.

In 2006, Hamilton released Joyous Shout! to celebrate his 85th birthday. In 2007, he released Hamiltonia, which included samples from his 2006 albums. Over the years, Hamilton had success with dance music, including his song "Conquistadors" from his 1960s Impulse album El Chico and "Strut" from his 1980 Elektra album Nomad.

In 2002, a track titled "For Mods Only" from his 1966 Impulse! Records album The Dealer was included on the Thievery Corporation's Sounds from the Verve Hi-Fi. In 2006, Rong Music released the 12-inch vinyl Kerry's Caravan by Mudd and Hamilton, with remixes by Ray Mang. Several remixes of Hamilton's recordings were released in the late 2000s. He released Twelve Tones of Love on Joyous Shout! in 2009. In March 2011, he had a long recording session with his Euphoria group, resulting in 28 new tracks. After a health setback in 2010, he and the group began weekly rehearsals at his Penthouse A, leading to the release of Revelation, an 11-track CD in 2011. For Dutch Radio Westerwolde, he created a radio jingle for The Toppyjazz Radio Show.

Hamilton died on November 25, 2013, in Manhattan, at the age of 92.

Discography

• 1953–54: Chico Hamilton Trio (Pacific Jazz LP-17) [10" LP]
• 1955: Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette (Pacific Jazz)
• 1955: The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet (World Pacific) – released 1960
• 1955: Live at the Strollers (Fresh Sound) – released 2008
• 1956: Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi (Pacific Jazz)
• 1956: Chico Hamilton Trio (Pacific Jazz) – reissue of LP-17 plus 4 additional tracks
• 1957: Chico Hamilton Quintet (Pacific Jazz)
• 1957: Sweet Smell of Success (Decca) – film soundtrack
• 1957: Delightfully Modern (Jazztone) – split album with the Laurindo Almeida Quartet; Pacific Jazz material
• 1958: South Pacific in Hi-Fi (World Pacific)
• 1958: Chico Hamilton Trio Introducing Freddie Gambrell (World Pacific)
• 1958: The Original Ellington Suite (Pacific Jazz) with Eric Dolphy – released 2000
• 1958: The Chico Hamilton Quintet with Strings Attached (Warner Bros.)
• 1958: Gongs East! (Warner Bros.)
• 1959: Ellington Suite (World Pacific)
• 1959: The Three Faces of Chico (Warner Bros.)
• 1959: That Hamilton Man (Sesac)
• 1960: Bye Bye Birdie-Irma La Douce (Columbia)
• 1960: The Chico Hamilton Special (Columbia)
• 1962: Drumfusion (Columbia)
• 1962: Passin' Thru (Impulse!)
• 1963: A Different Journey (Reprise)
• 1963: Man from Two Worlds (Impulse!)
• 1965: Chic Chic Chico (Impulse!)
• 1966: El Chico (Impulse!)
• 1966: The Further Adventures of El Chico (Impulse!)
• 1966: The Dealer (Impulse!)
• 1968: The Gamut (Solid State)
• 1969: The Head Hunters (Solid State)
• 1970: El Exigente: The Demanding One (Flying Dutchman/RCA)
• 1973: The Master (Enterprise/Stax)
• 1974: Montreux Festival (Stax) – live album shared with Albert King and Little Milton
• 1975: Peregrinations (Blue Note)
• 1976: Chico Hamilton and the Players (Blue Note)
• 1977: Catwalk (Mercury)
• 1979: Reaching for the Top (Nautilus)
• 1980: Nomad (Elektra)
• 1988: Euphoria (Swallow)
• 1989: The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet: Reunion (Soul Note) – released 1991
• 1990: Transfusion (Studio West/V.S.O.P.) – recorded 1962
• 1991: Arroyo (Soul Note)
• 1993: Trio! (Soul Note)
• 1993: Dreams Come True (Joyous Shout! JS10010) with Andrew Hill – released 2008
• 1994: My Panamanian Friend (The Music of Eric Dolphy) (Soul Note)
• 1994: Dancing to a Different Drummer (Soul Note)
• 1997: The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of the Chico Hamilton Quintet (Mosaic) [9-LP/6-CD box set]
• 1999: Timely (All Points Jazz)
• 2001: Foreststorn (Koch)
• 2002: Thoughts Of… (Koch)
• 2006: Juniflip (Joyous Shout! JS10001)
• 2006: Believe (Joyous Shout! JS10002)
• 2006: 6th Avenue Romp (Joyous Shout! JS10