Hod O'Brien

Walter Howard " Hod " O'Brien ( born January 19, 1936 in Chicago) is an American pianist of modern jazz.

Life and work

O'Brien played six year old piano and in 1950 was a professional musician. First, he had his own ensembles in Chicago. After a short study at the Manhattan School of Music, he joined in 1957 in New York quintet by Oscar Pettiford on. He participated in the recording of the album Three Trumpets by Donald Byrd, Art Farmer and Idrees Sulieman, then played with saxophonist JR Monte Rose, then as a member of the band of Teddy Kotick in a club on Staten Iceland guest soloists as Phil Woods and Stan Getz to accompany. In 1960 he was involved with René Thomas ' album Guitar Groove. From 1963 to 1973 he studied mathematics and psychology and worked as a research assistant at New York University. He then opened his own music club. From the 1970s he worked primarily at Joe Puma. Since the 1980s, emerged albums under his own name, where musicians such as Pepper Adams, Tom Harrell, Ray Drummond, Kenny Washington and Frank Luther participated. He also took up with Chet Baker, Ted Brown and Danny D' Imperio.

O'Brien is married to jazz singer Stephanie Nakasian, with which it also occurs since the mid- 1980s; Their daughter is also a jazz singer.

Auswahldiskographie

• Opalessence ( Criss Cross, 1984)
• Ridin 'High (Reservoir, 1990)
• So That's How It It (Reservoir, 1997)

As a sideman

• Roswell Rudd: Flexible Flyer ( Black Saint, 1974)
• Chet Baker: Blues for a Reason ( Criss Cross, 1984)
• Joe Puma: Shining Hour (Reservoir, 1984)
• Danny D' Imperio: Blues for Philly Joe ( VSOP, 1991), Glass Enclosure ( VSOP, 1991)
• J. R. Monte Rose: T.T.T. ( Storyvielle, 1988)