Hot Five

Apollo Music Café, April 13 and April 14, 2012.  A three time Emmy award winning musician/arranger/composer, trombone/ukelele/guitarist and vocalist J. Walter Hawkes plays regularly in New York City with his own band, has worked with everyone from John Lithgow to Norah Jones, and produces music for film and television through his company Blatboy Productions. For more info: http://www.blatboy.com

 Drummer, percussionist and composer Warren Smith has arguably had one of the most varied careers of any improvising drummer, working with artists as diverse as Sam Rivers, Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Bill Cole and Harry Partch. With Max Roach, he started the important percussion ensemble M'Boom Re: Percussion and also opened one of the first and longest-running performance lofts, Studio WIS, in 1967.  

Bassist Hilliard Greene has performed and/or recorded with Jimmy Scott, currently serving as his Musical Director, and with Cecil Taylor where he was Concert Master for his group “Phtongos”. Teaching private students and classes for the past 25 years, he has also worked with Gloria Lynne, Jacky Terrasson, The Inkspots, Rashied Ali, Leroy Jenkins, Jimmy Ponder, Eddie Gladden, Nipsy Russell, Vanessa Rubin, Yoron Israel, Cindy Blackman and Electric Symphony, amongst others.  

Tenor saxophone (King Of All Woodwinds) Patience Higgins was a featured artist on 1998s double Grammy Award winning recording Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Dear Ella. Other credits include tour and recording engagements with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Bassie Orchestra, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Short, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Pointer Sisters and Yoko Ono, amongst others. Mr. Higgins is also well known for his work on Broadway, including The Wiz , Ain’t Misbehavin’ , Chicago , and many others, as well as numerous movie soundtracks.

Charles E. Wallaceis excited and thrilled to be a part of The Billie Holliday Project. Mr. Wallace has worked in a number of familiar shows on and off Broadway, as well as nationally, regionally, and internationally. Charles is happy to be back at the Apollo Theater after having previously appeared in Harlem Song. God Bless.