Buck Hill and Me… — Vinyl Magic

The only thing in the clubs was organ and drum duos. No place for a sax. That period was a drag. I felt that no one wanted me, felt worthless. I didn't even practice much. Just came home and sat around listening to records and having a drink or two. Didn't even pay my union dues. But my wife, she went to the union office and said. "You know this man can't live without music.' She paid my dues for me.

Buck Hill on his lack of opportunities in the 1960s

Buck did not like to travel. He did not like a lot of attention. He just wanted to plant his feet and play the music.

Nasar Abadey, drummer with Buck for more than 30 years

Scope (1979) signed by Buck, Kenny Barron, Billy Hart, Buster Williams

He's a fantastic horn player. His playing is very steeped in tradition and yet very contemporary. His writing is so fresh that it's hard to play cliches.

Kenny Barron on Buck Hill

It depends on how the money runs. If I make a lot of money, I'll retire. If I don't, I won't. I saw in the paper where there's an eighty three year old mailman in New York City.

Buck Hill

This Is Buck Hill (1978) signed by Billy Hart, Buster Williams

Roger "Buck" Hill was born in 1927 in Washington DC. He started playing tenor saxophone in local clubs in the 1940s, but Buck always had a back up plan. He worked for the US Postal Service with a regular mail route for over forty years. Mailman by day, swingin' jazz cat by night, Buck was known as the "Wailin' Mailman" and wail he did. He had serious jazz chops with a warm, rich, and full bodied sound and Buck even played jam sessions with Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt and Dizzy Gillespie. But he kept his day job and supported his wife and five children.

Though he played (and recorded) with Charlie Byrd in the late 1950s, Buck did not make his debut as a leader until 1978 on Steeplechase Records, a highly regarded Danish label, which was home to artists and expats like Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Kenny Drew, and Horace Parlan. This Is Buck Hill has superb accompaniment by Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Billy Hart on drums. It is an impressive debut for the (then) fifty-one years young tenor titan with a first rate jazz trio for a first rate jazz saxophonist. Buck followed that release with two other Steeplechase releases which mixed standards like Cole Porter's "Easy To Love", Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays", and Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" with some hard bop originals.

Capital Hill (1989) signed by Buck, Barry Harris

In 1989, Buck released Capital Hill on Muse Records, another sublime session anchored by the great Detroit pianist Barry Harris and produced by Houston Person. This record features exquisite versions of George Gershwin's "Someone To Watch Over Me", Sonny Rollins "Tenor Madness", and Benny Goodman's "Stompin' At The Savoy." And the most interesting (and improbable) song is a raucous, hard bop instrumental version of "Hail To The Redskins", the Washington Football Team fight song. The second oldest fight song in professional football (Green Bay Packers' "Go! You Packers Go!" was first, composed in 1931), "Hail To The Redskins" was written by Washington bandleader Barnee Breeskin in 1938 with lyrics penned by Corinne Griffith, wife of owner George Preston Marshall. It became an anthem with all the success that the Washington Football Team enjoyed, particularly under the ownership of Jack Kent Cooke and Hall Of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. There was no more rockin' place than RFK Stadium in the 80s-early 90s when John Riggins, Art Monk or Gary Clark scored a touchdown, and "Hail" was sung in all its exuberant glory. From those peaks of grandeur (including three Super Bowl wins!) to the current depths of despair, those memories fade as the interminable folly, futility, and pettiness of current owner Dan Snyder pervades ad nauseam, ad infinitum. But I digress...

Reuben Brown Benefit program, Austrian Embassy September 15, 1995

I was lucky to see Buck Hill many times over the years. While he recorded twelve albums since his re-introduction in 1978, his touring and appearances were limited. After all, he had mail to deliver and a route to service. In 1995, he played a benefit at the Austrian Embassy for Reuben Brown, a local DC jazz pianist who suffered a debilitating stroke. There were many jazz legends, including Shirley Horn who dedicated a hushed and spellbinding "Here's To Life" to Reuben's recovery, James Williams contributed a rollicking gospel "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free", George Coleman blew pretty for all the girls, and Buck performed with Barry Harris and Cecil McBee. It was a great tribute and a beautiful night of soul and music.

Buck Hill and Barry Harris, Austrian Embassy September 15, 1995

George Coleman and Cecil McBee, Austrian Embassy September 15, 1995

After the show, I chatted with Buck. He signed a couple of albums and I told him how much I loved his playing of "Hail To The Redskins" on Capital Hill. He took the album and signed "Hail To The Redskins" right in the middle of his forehead. Sadly, Buck passed away on March 20, 2017 at ninety-years old. While he never got the accolades or acclaim he deserved, Buck was a monster if unsung talent.

Thanks Buck, this postman may or may not ring twice, but he sure can blow his horn.