Billy Higgins grew up in the black neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles, and began
his musical career playing rhythm'n'blues (Jimmy Witherspoon) and rock and roll
with local musicians. He also played with the solid saxophonist Ike Quebec. In
1953, he joined the Jazz Messiahs band co-directed by Don Cherry and James Clay,
in which Dexter Gordon also played (1953-1955). After playing and recording with
Red Mitchell (1957), Billy Higgins met Ornette Coleman, the saxophonist who
plays on a plastic instrument. In 1958, when Ornette Coleman set up his first
ever free jazz quartet, Higgin...