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Jutta Hipp: Remembering Blue Note's Trailblazer

By Ian Patterson
February 4, 2024
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"She's a great pianist. She's better than Toshiko [Akiyoshi], incidentally. You've heard of Jutta Hipp?"

So opined

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus in Thomas Reichman's documentary film Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968. Mingus was speaking about German- born pianist

" data-original-title="" title="">Jutta Hipp (1925-2003), who, in 1956, became the first woman to sign for Blue Note Records.

For an account of Hipp's extraordinary and in many ways tragic life, see Marc Myers' JazzWax interview with jazz historian and journalist Katja von Schuttenbach.

Was Mingus right? Judge for yourself from this swinging live recording, At the Hickory House, Vol. 2 (Blue Note, 1956), with

Peter Ind

bass, acoustic
1928 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Ind on bass and

Ed Thigpen

drums
1930 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Ed Thigpen on drums.

Contact Ian Patterson on All About Jazz.
Ian is dedicated to the promotion of jazz and all creative music all over the world, and to catching just a little piece of it for himself.

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