Vibraphonist and marimba player Bobby Hutcherson was born in Los Angeles on this date in 1941. There was music all around him as he grew up. His sister sang with Gerald Wilson’s orchestra and Bobby’s older brother was friends with Dexter Gordon. His sister introduced him to her boyfriend - reedman Eric Dolphy. Inspired to learn the vibraphone at age 12 after hearing Milt Jackson, Hutcherson was playing professionally by his late teens with Dolphy, Curtis Amy, Carmell Jones and Charles Lloyd. Hutcherson made his first recording in the summer of 1960 with the Les McCann Trio.

By 1962 Bobby Hutcherson was playing with Al Grey and Billy Mitchell in San Francisco and New York City, and in 1963 moved to the Bronx. Shortly after relocating to the east coast, Hutcherson recorded with saxophonist Jackie McLean’s group on Blue Note Records. Soon thereafter Bobby could be found playing with Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, Grant Green and Lee Morgan. After being signed with the label, Hutcherson made 24 records as a leader for them between 1963 and 2014. During his career he also made records with other labels including Columbia and Landmark Records.

In 1967 New York City rescinded Hutcherson’s cabaret card after he was arrested for marijuana possession in Central Park. This denied him the right to work in any establishment in the city that served alcohol. This event prompted his return the California and there he began working regularly with saxophonist Harold Land. They made seven records together, some of which included sidemen Chick Corea and Joe Sample.

In the 1980s Land and Hutcherson recorded with the likes of Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins. In 2004 Hutcherson was a founding member of the SF Jazz Collective where he teamed with Joshua Redman and Nicholas Payton. He played at the grand opening of the SF Jazz Center in 2013 and spent the last decade of his career touring with his own quartet. In a 2013 article in DownBeat magazine about Bobby Hutcherson, author Dan Ouelette wrote that “Hutcherson took the vibes to a new level of jazz sophistication with his harmonic inventions and his blurring-fast, four-mallet runs…Milt Jackson was the guy, but Bobby took it to the next level. It's like Milt was Charlie Parker, and Bobby was John Coltrane." Bobby Hutcherson passed away in 2016 at the age of 75.

Here is a link to Hutcherson playing what may be his best-known composition:

"LITTLE B'S POEM"