Panel 7: In the Studios 2
Audio Clips for Panel 7
1. Milt Hinton discussing work in recording studios:
2. Selections from “Prelude to a Kiss” from Basses Loaded (recorded 1955), RCA Victor LPM1107; “How High the Moon” from Bassicly with Blue (recorded 1976), Black and Blue 33098; “Kookin’ in the Kitchen” from The Rhythm Section (recorded 1956), Epic LN3271; and “Back Home Indiana” from Bassicly with Blue:
Accessible Text
Following is the complete text of the Panel 7 image.
In the Studios 2
By the mid-1950s Milt was a first-call bassist in the New York studio scene. He played on more than a dozen record dates each week, documenting them all in small datebooks he always carried in his shirt pocket. Form historic sessions with jazz’s greats to playing with some of pop music’s biggest stars to making movie sound tracks and commercial jingles, the studios provided a range of musical opportunities for Milt. Between sessions, when there was time to kill, Milt was a regular at Beefsteak Charlie’s, a hangout for studio musicians in New York’s midtown. On a rare day off, the hangout shifted to Milt’s basement, where musicians ate together, made music, and recorded interviews with each other reminiscing about their experiences in music.
Milt’s datebook for May 22–25, 1960
Milt regularly scheduled 2 to 3 three-hour sessions each day. In the seven days represented in the datebooks above, Milt was a part of nearly two dozen sessions with performers as diversse as Jackie Gleason (May 24), Jackie Wilson (May 25), Paul Anka (Jan 7–9), Sammy Davis Jr. (Jan 10), and Billy Eckstine (Jan 10). He often filled out his schedule with regular work for producers like Marty Wilson (as on the May 23 session for Capitol Records) and contractors like Julie Held (as on the May 24 Muzak session).
Milt’s datebook for January 7–10, 1963
Background image:
Milt with Brooke Benton and Dinah Washington, New York City recording studio, photo by Chuck Stewart
Upper banner from left to right:
LP covers for recordings featuring Milt as a leader: Basses Loaded (1955), Milt Hinton (1955), The Rhythm Section (1956), and Bassicly with Blue (1976)
Lower banner from left to right
Beefsteak Charlie’s, New York City, 1958; Milt with Hank Jones and Osie Johnson, New York City recording studio, ca. 1957; Milt in his basement, ca. 1957