PERSONAL AND ARTISTIC     /

     EVERYTIME A DRUMMER DIES - IT HURTS. IT HURTS, ESPECIALLY, WHEN YOU HAVE TRACED A PARTICULAR DRUMMER'S WORK AND NAME. YOU OFTEN FEEL THAT THE MESSAGE WAS MEANT JUST FOR YOU BECAUSE YOUR SOUL HAS BEEN UPLIFTED BY WHAT WAS PLAYED IN THE MUSIC. THE TRICKS AND SKILL USED TO PRESENT THE MUSIC HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH IT. ONE CONTINUES TO DEVELOP - AS DOES THE ART OF DRUMMING (AND MUSIC IN GENERAL) FROM THE MESSAGE PLAYED - DISPLAYED- AND PASSED ON. THE DRUMS AND MUSIC OF BILLY HIGGINS SPOKE TO ME IN THIS WAY.

CONTRARY MOTION:
     I TRIED TO UNDERSTAND HOW HE KEPT THE SWING IN THE SIDEWINDER (A CLASSIC) WITHOUT PLAYING THE KIND OF BEAT THAT IS USUALLY DEFINED IN RHYTHM AND BLUES (OR ROCK): THEN I STARTED TO SEE HIS NAME ON ALL THESE BLUE NOTE RECORDS - WITH MANY DIFFERENT PLAYERS. THE TASTE, DISCRETION, SKILL AND JOY (IN THE MUSIC) NEVER DIMINISHED. THIS MAN WAS WORKING!

     THEN CAME THE MUSIC OF ORNETTE - AND ALL MUSIC LOVERS SHOULD KNOW THESE GREAT WORKS (THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME STICKS OUT IN MY MIND). BILLY HIGGINS PLAYED A VERY DIFFERENT ROLE. HIS ROLE WAS DIFFERENT, TO ME, BECAUSE HE WAS MORE "EXPOSED" AS A DRUMMER - AN AUDIBLE LANGUAGE MADE MORE VISIBLE TO ME /A WORK IN PROGRESS. THE QUARTET WAS AN IDEAL WAY TO HEAR WHAT HE WAS DOING IN THE CONTEXT OF C OMPOSITIONS LIKE "LONELY WOMAN" AND "FOCUS ON SANITY". THERE IS A RELAXED FEEL AND STILL SWINGING. AS A MUSICIAN I KNEW THIS WAS A DIFFICULT THING TO DO - IN THE MUSIC. BILLY HIGGINS DID THIS AND SHOWED ME THAT THIS CAN BE FUN.

II.   LINES GO LIKE THIS -
     REVELATIONS PROCEEDED, BUT ON AN ACCUMULATED BASIS. I KEPT HEARING HIS INTERPRETATIONS OF OUR MUSIC. HE NEVER CONTENDED WITH ME (A GROWING FREE PLAYER), BUT HE PROVIDED THAT "CONTRARY MOTION" NECESSARY TO MAKE ME THINK ABOUT THE MUSIC AND FEEL THE BENEFITS/SPIRIT. A WELLNESS THAT ONLY "DOING" THIS MUSIC PROVIDES.

     WHEN I FIRST REALIZED THAT THIS WAS BILLY HIGGINS - SINGING IN BRAZILIAN AND PLAYING GUITAR - THE BOMB HIT!!!. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY DRUMMER THAT DID THAT....WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PIECE, AND WHAT A CONCEPTUAL LIFE. THE LIFE OF THIS MAN BEGAN TO RING OUT, LIKE A BRIDGE BETWEEN A NEW AND OLD GOSPEL (AESTHETIC).

     THE MEASURE OF THE BILLY HIGGINS LEGACY CANNOT REALLY BE SUMMED UP IN AN ARTICLE, A BOOK , OR REISSUE AFTER REISSUE. THE MAN THAT I LAST SAW PERFORMING AT THE JAZZ FESTIVAL WITH THE ORNETTE COLEMAN GROUP LEFT AN IMPRESSION ON ME THAT I WILL NOT FORGET . NUANCE, SKILL, CONTRAST AND MAGIC WERE EXHIBITED. THE TUNES WERE PUT INTO THE PERPETUAL CYCLE OF MUSICAL LIFE.

III. HE DID IT…………………………………/
     AN ARTIST OF ALL ASPECTS……THAT REALLY KNOWS NO END. I HOPE THAT FOLKS WILL CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO HIS DRUMMING MASTERY. THE NOTES WERE NOT LOST. THE SOUND OF BILLY HIGGINS.. IS IN MY LIFE - ALL LIFE CONTINUES.