Chico Hamilton passed away on 25 November. He was a phenomenal drummer and the reason why Charlie Watts started playing the drums. A couple of years ago Charlie even played a track on CH's album.

If it hadn't been for 'Walking Shoes' we would never have had Charlie playing drums with our favourite band. Hamilton was one of the greats. Bless him.

RIP Chico Hamilton.

Beautiful track from my fav Chico Hamilton album. Eric Dolphy on alto sax.

Charlie, from a 1987 interview in DownBeat-

What is your history as a drummer? I've read that you started out drumming on a banjo with its neck twisted off.

Yeah, I bought a banjo, and I saw all these dots in a book-did you ever see a banjo book or a guitar book ? I couldn't have done that. Oh dear, all these little dot things. So I took the neck off, and about the same time I heard a drummer called Chico Hamilton. It was a record called Walking Shoes by Gerry Mulligan and I fell in love with the sound of the brushes. So I bought a pair of wire brushes and used the banjo, the skin of it - now it's probably worth more than a snare drum - as a drum.

thanks for the music Chico Hamilton..

Ohh Sad News...I have a couple of very good albums on CD with Chico....



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Great and innovative drummer. There is of course a very slight Stones connection. The Chico Hamilton Quintet featured in the film The Sweet Taste Of Success. That movie is Andrew Loog Oldham's favourite film according to his book Stoned.