[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 29 (Thursday, February 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              80TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ROGER ``BUCK'' HILL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 14, 2007

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise to call attention to the lifetime 
of artistic achievements of tenor saxophonist Roger ``Buck'' Hill, an 
outstanding jazz musician from Washington, D.C., who celebrates his 
80th birthday this week with a performance at the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe 
on Friday, February 16, 2007.
  Buck Hill was the featured performer at the very first Congressional 
Black Caucus Jazz Forum and Concert that I hosted back in 1985. He was 
a first-call artist for me back then, and he continues to be just that, 
here and around the world.
  Buck Hill recently released ``Relax'', his first recording as a band 
leader in nearly 15 years. It marks the reemergence of one of America's 
greatest national treasures onto the international jazz scene.
  As he approaches his 80th birthday Hill remains a vital voice on his 
instrument, with a robust personal sound that reaches back to the 
horn's early masters like Lester Young, and onward into the glory days 
of bebop and beyond, recalling John Coltrane.
  A lifelong resident of Washington, D.C., Hill first studied music 
with the same teacher who instructed a young Duke Ellington, and went 
on to become a member of the house band in the city's world famous 
Howard Theater. A fixture on the Capital jazz scene for over sixty 
years, Hill revealed his enormous talent to the world beginning in the 
late seventies with a series of excellent records for Steeplechase and 
Muse. Guest appearances on several of fellow D.C. legend Shirley Horn's 
albums brought him widespread critical and popular notice in the 1990s 
before he once again returned to his hometown.
  Hill's most recent work proves that he's still one of the best tenor 
men in jazz today. The group, featuring his regular bandmates John 
Ozment at the Hammond organ and Jerry Jones on drums, plus Paul Pieper 
on guitar, offers up straight-ahead jazz on an eight song program split 
evenly between the leader's own original compositions and classic jazz 
material.
  The return of Buck Hill to the world of jazz recording is indeed a 
momentous occasion and cause for celebration. Hill plays the tenor with 
the authoritative voice of experience and his well-seasoned sound is a 
link to the saxophone's glorious past and a lesson to those who wish to 
move the horn into the future. His work is a true testament not just to 
his longevity, but also to his continued growth as a master 
saxophonist, bandleader and composer.

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