Hilton Ruiz, a pianist, was born May 29, 1952. He was a prodigy as a child and took up the piano from an early age. He had already performed the Mozart Sonata at Carnegie Hall by age 8. Ruiz, who has a strong classical music background, began to explore Latin music and jazz as he was in his teens. At the age of 14, he was a professional musician, primarily working with Latin-music groups. Ruiz quickly rose in the ranks and was soon working with jazz legends Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. Ruiz also studied with Mary Lou Williams and Cedar Walton, who taught him the more traditional styles of jazz such as ragtime, stride, and Boogie Woogie. Ruiz was a member of Rahsaan Roland’s band for four years in 1973. He considered this to be one his most memorable musical and educational experiences. He played with Clark Terry, George Coleman Pharoah, Clark Terry and Charles Mingus. Ruiz started recording and performing as a leader in the 1980s. He has nearly 20 albums under his belt, as well as many recordings as a sideman to some of the most prominent names in jazz and Latin Jazz. Ruiz visited New Orleans in May 2006 to record a benefit album for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Ruiz was discovered unconscious and severely injured in a French Quarter restaurant on May 19. This was the result of an apparent slip. Ruiz was in a coma from the time he fell and died at East Jefferson General Hospital, New Orleans on June 6. From www.npr.org
