Hilton Ruiz

Latin-jazz pianist. b. May 29, 1952 in New York City, New York, USA, of Puerto Rican parentage d. June 6, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Hilton Ruiz was an Nuyorican jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player. He was of Puerto Rican descent. Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of five, at age eight he performed at Carnegie Hall. Ruiz studied with jazz piano great Mary Lou Williams. While still in his teens he gigged with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Newman and others. Later, he was Roland Kirk's main pianist from 1974 to 1977 and was featured on such records as The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. Ruiz also recorded several solo albums between the 1980s and 2000s. Hilton Ruiz was found unconscious after suffering a head injury and he died a short time later. It was never established whether he was mugged or fell and hit his head on the sidewalk.