Earl Hines

Earl Hines (1905-1983), American jazz pianist, whose style was characterized by intricate rhythms and dynamic use of octaves. Earl “Fatha” Hines was born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. During his high school days in Pittsburgh, Hines played piano in nightclubs. In 1922 he went to Chicago and six years later organized his first band. During the 1930s his band was heard by network radio audiences on his own nightly broadcast. Many famous jazz musicians played with the Hines band, including the American saxophonist Charlie Parker and the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. In 1947 the Hines band was disbanded, and for the next four years he played piano with the band of the jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong; thereafter Hines joined a number of smaller musical groups.