"He was a major, important player who was probably not as well recognized as he should have been," said Rusty Hassan, a DJ with Washington radio station WPFW who knew Mr. Hicks for more than 30 years. 

John Hicks -- jazz pianist of many styles
- Matt Schudel, Washington Post
Saturday, May 20, 2006

John Hicks, a versatile jazz pianist who combined strength and refinement while performing with many of the leading musicians of his era, died May 10 of internal bleeding at a New York hospital. He was 64.

Mr. Hicks was adept at several forms of jazz, from standards and bebop to the avant-garde. He appeared on hundreds of recordings as a leader or sideman and was comfortable in small groups, in big bands or accompanying singers.

Early in his career, he was a pianist for three demanding musical leaders who helped sculpt his style and broaden his musical experience. In 1964, soon after arriving in New York, Mr. Hicks joined the Jazz Messengers, a hard-driving quintet led by drummer Art Blakey, a renowned judge of talent. Two years later, Mr. Hicks became the pianist for singer Betty Carter, another leader with uncompromising tastes. Finally, from 1968 to 1970, he held the piano chair in the big band of Woody Herman.

Since the 1970s, Mr. Hicks had led a series of small groups and appeared with the Mingus Big Band, which performed the music of Charles Mingus. Through the years, he worked with an all-star lineup of jazz greats, including trumpeters Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and Clark Terry; saxophonists Sonny Rollins, Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson and Pharoah Sanders; and singers Jon Hendricks and Carmen McRae.

Mr. Hicks appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center and was a fixture at international music festivals. In recent years, he often performed with trumpeter Eddie Henderson or with his wife, flutist Elise Wood, and taught at the New York University and the New School in New York.