Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Exhibition Label

Born Duquesne, Pennsylvania

In the 1930s a Chicago disc jockey gave Earl Hines the nickname “Fatha,” in part as a tribute to his role as the progenitor of modern jazz piano. Known for playing hornlike, or “trumpet style,” lines with one hand and chords with the other, Hines elevated the role of the piano as a solo instrument and influenced generations of jazz pianists. In the mid-1920s he moved from Pittsburgh to Chicago, where his playing partners included trumpeter Louis Armstrong. By 1928 Hines had formed his own big band, which performed regularly at the Grand Terrace Ballroom and toured throughout North America and later Europe and Russia. As the effects of bebop’s fast tempos and improvisation transformed jazz throughout the 1940s, Hines’s expanding band nurtured new talent that included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker, and vocalists Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughan.

Nacido en Duquesne, Pennsylvania

En la década de 1930, un disc jockey de Chicago dio a Earl Hines el apodo de “Fatha” (Father), aludiendo a su influencia como padre del piano jazz moderno. Famoso por tocar con una mano la línea melódica, como si tocara una trompeta, y con la otra mano los acordes, Hines elevó el rol del piano como solista y dejó sentir su influencia en varias generaciones de pianistas. A mediados de los años veinte se trasladó de Pittsburgh a Chicago, donde comenzó a tocar con otros músicos como el trompetista Louis Armstrong. Para 1928 Hines ya había formado su propia big band que actuaba regularmente en el Grand Terrace Ballroom, y con ella también realizó giras por Norteamérica, Europa y Rusia. Durante la década de 1940, mientras el bebop iba transformando al jazz con sus tempos rápidos e improvisaciones armónicas, la banda de Hines siguió creciendo y fomentado talentos nuevos como el trompetista Dizzy Gillespie, el saxofonista Charlie Parker y los cantantes Billy Eckstine y Sarah Vaughan.

Artist

Ronny Jaques, 1910 - 2008

Sitter

Earl Kenneth Hines, 1905 - 22 Apr 1983

Date

c. 1942

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 27.2 × 27.2cm (10 11/16 × 10 11/16")

Sheet: 35.4 × 27.9cm (13 15/16 × 11")

Mat (Verified): 71.1 x 55.9cm (28 x 22")

Type

Photograph

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Object number

NPG.2002.102

Topic

Interior

Music\Musical instrument\Piano

Earl Kenneth Hines: Male

Earl Kenneth Hines: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Pianist

Earl Kenneth Hines: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz

Portrait

Restrictions & Rights

© Ronny Jacques