Panel 9: A Respected Elder Statesman
Audio Clip for Panel 9
1. Selections from “Joshua” from Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz (recorded August 15, 1991), Jazz Alliance TJA-12016; “Peace” from Trio Jeepy (recorded January 3-4, 1988), Columbia CK44199; and “Milt’s Rap” from The Judge at his Best (recorded 1990), Chiaroscuro CRD219:
Accessible Text
Following is the complete text of the Panel 9 image.
A Respected Elder Statesman
By the 1990s Milt was revered as an elder statesman in jazz. In addition to seven honorary doctorates, he received awards from local, state, and national organizations—too many to count. The 1993 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship was a highlight: the highest honor the U.S. could bestow on a living jazz musician.
Invitations to events at the White House were a regular part of Milt’s life, and his musical contributions were memorialized through countless tribute concerts. When Milt died at the age of 90 on December 19, 2000, letters poured in from dignitaries, fans, and protégés whom Milt had inspired over the years. More than 2,000 friends and family attended the memorial service celebrating his life.
Milt’s Honorary Doctorates from De Paul University, 1991; William Paterson College, 1987; Skidmore College, 1990; and Berklee College of Music, 1996
Milt receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Baruch College, 1996
Newspaper clipping from the renaming of 113 Avenue in Queens as Milt Hinton Place, 2002
Upper banner from left to right:
Milt with President Jimmy Carter at the White House, and related letter, 1978; White House invitations from Presidents Nixon and Reagan, 1969 and 1981; Milt and Mona with President and Mrs. Bush, 1989; birthday greeting from President Clinton, 2000
Lower banner from left to right:
Rehearsal for Milt’s 80th birthday celebration at the JVC Jazz Festival, New York City, 1990; tribute letters from bassists John Clayton, Rufus Reid, and Ray Brown