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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture > Video Oral History Gallery Video Gallery Cataloging Data: Milt HintonLocation Schomburg-MIRS Call # Sc Visual VRA-193 Service copy. Sc Visual VRB-2026 Original of: VRA-193. Author Hinton, Milt, interviewee. Title Oral history interview with Milt Hinton, 1 August 1995 [videorecording] / interviewer, Larry Ridley. Imprint 1995 Description 1 videocassette (2 hr., 3 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. 020300 Note Title supplied; duration: 2 hr., 3 min. Credits Produced and directed by James Briggs Murray. Note Hinton performs: a composition with interviewer Larry Ridley, both musicians on double bass; a rap song of his own; and Mama Don't Want No Music Playin' in Here. Recorded on August 1, 1995, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project. Summary The oral history interview with Milt Hinton, double-bass player, begins with Hinton performing a tune with interviewer Larry Ridley, followed by a brief outline of his childhood. Born June 23, 1910, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Hinton was an only child raised by a single mother (pianist and teacher). While still a child, Hinton and his mother took part in the exodus of southern Blacks to Chicago after WW I, in Hinton's case, the south side. He mentions being complimented by Louis Armstrong once and how it felt like the stamp of approval. Hinton explains the importance of learning the diatonic scale which he demonstrates, he then performs a song using his unique slap technique. Hinton tells that he has been married 56 years, is a deacon in his church and was brought up in the church. Describes the thriving music scene in Chicago and the musically active high schools of which he was a part. Some musicians he knew from school days: Ray Nance, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman. Mid 1930's Hinton joined Cab Calloway's band and remained for 16 years. He talks about the history of the band, how it operated, how Cab came to be its leader. Hinton describes the resistance to bass players playing changes in the past, how Jimmy Blanton revolutionized bass playing, and refers to his Ebony Silhouette he recorded before Blanton's time. Hinton refers back to his father, a Monrovian bushman, and how he met for the first time when Hinton was 30 and playing with Cab Calloway. Hinton talks about Black arrangers whose accomplishments he would like young people to know about: Will Vodery, Gil Fuller and Will Marion Cook. He explains how ragtime got its name, and the parallels between jazz and plastic, stemming from a course he took in plastic engineering. Hinton's recording/studio work has resulted in over 600 recordings; at one time in his career he had three recording dates per day. The facts involved in a notorious scuffle between Cab Calloway and Dizzy Gillespie are clarified by Hinton; he also talks about Dizzy's antics in Calloway's band, and Dizzy's remarkable knowledge of music. Hinton tells how traditionally the drummer has been the maintainer of the beat whose primary function was to swing the band; the importance of a marriage, so to speak, between the drummer and the bass player. He comments on how the mechanics of recording have changed and the use of amplifiers. Hinton concludes the interview by expressing his feelings on the endowment of the arts, in particular, the endowment of music for young people's sake; closes with a joke about his age. Note Reproduction. Originally produced: New York, N.Y. : Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, 1995. 1 videocassette (MII) ; 1/2 in. VHS. Use terms Permission required to cite, quote and reproduce; contact repository for information. Biography/History Milt Hinton is a legendary double-bass player and teacher. Born June 23, 1910 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Hinton moved to Chicago's southside as a youngster and became involved in music through church and school. He played with Cab Calloway's Band for 16 years and has recorded extensively. Hinton remains active in the music world and also teaches. Note Forms part of: Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project. In Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project Subject Armstrong, Louis, 1900-1971 -- Influence. Blanton, Jimmy, d1942. Calloway, Cab, 1907- Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917- Hinton, Milt -- Childhood and youth. Hinton, Milt -- Interviews. Vodery, Will H. -- Contributions in jazz. Afro-American musicians. Afro-Americans -- United States. Double-bass -- Methods (Jazz). Double-bass music (Double-basses (2)). Double-bass music (Jazz). Double-bass music -- Instruction and study. Double-bass with band. Double-bassists -- United States -- Interviews. Jazz -- History. Jazz -- Illinois -- History. Jazz musicians -- United States -- Interviews. Form/genre Biographies. Additional name Hinton, Milt Performer. Ridley, Larry, interviewer. Ridley, Larry Performer. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Donor The Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project was funded by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc. |