Jutta Hipp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jutta Hipp
Background information
Born	February 4, 1925 Leipzig, Weimar Republic
Died	April 7, 2003(2003-04-07) (aged 78) Sunnyside, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1940s–1958

Jutta Hipp (born February 4, 1925 – died April 7, 2003) was a talented jazz pianist and composer. She was born in Leipzig, Germany. During World War II, it was difficult for her to listen to jazz because the Nazi government did not approve of it.

After the war, Jutta Hipp became a touring pianist. By the early 1950s, she was leading her own jazz bands. A famous music critic named Leonard Feather heard her play in Germany in 1954. He helped her record music and move to the United States in 1955. She soon played at famous clubs and music festivals and released several albums.

However, Jutta Hipp's last recording was in 1956. She later started working in a clothing factory and stopped playing music professionally. She lived in the United States for the rest of her life and worked at the clothing company for 35 years.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Jutta Hipp was born on February 4, 1925, in Leipzig, which was then part of the Weimar Republic. Her family was middle class. She started playing the piano when she was nine years old. She also studied painting in Germany.

During the Nazi regime, jazz music was not allowed. But Jutta loved jazz and found ways to listen to it. She would attend secret gatherings at friends' homes. Sometimes, during bombing raids, she would listen to forbidden jazz radio stations instead of going to the bomb shelter.

She studied at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Arts. After Russia took control of Leipzig in 1946, Jutta moved to the western parts of Germany.

Music Career and Performances

After World War II, Jutta Hipp faced many challenges. She had a son, Lionel, in 1948. She later gave her son up for adoption.

Jutta began working with saxophonist Hans Koller in 1951. They toured together in Germany and other countries. They also recorded music in 1952. From 1953 to 1955, Jutta led her own jazz quintet in Germany. Albert Mangelsdorff's brother, Emil, was a member of her group. In 1954, Jutta also played with musician Attila Zoller.

In January 1954, music critic Leonard Feather heard Jutta Hipp play in Germany. He had received a recording of her music from a friend three years earlier. Feather arranged a recording session for her in April, and the album was released two years later. Later in 1954, Jutta performed at the Deutsches Jazzfestival in Frankfurt.

Moving to the United States

Jutta Hipp moved to the United States in 1955. She lived there for the rest of her life. Leonard Feather helped her get a visa. He also found her a job as a pianist at the Hickory House club in New York City. She played there for six months, starting in March 1956.

In the same year, she performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. With Feather's help, she also recorded for the famous Blue Note label. Blue Note released two albums that were recorded live at the Hickory House in April 1956. Her final recording was an album with saxophonist Zoot Sims.

Life After Music

Jutta Hipp was a private person. She found it hard to perform in front of crowds. She may have seen playing the piano as a way to earn money after the war, rather than her main passion. When it became harder to make enough money as a jazz musician, she decided to find a more stable job.

In 1960, she started working for the Wallachs clothing company. She stayed there for 35 years. She prepared men's pants for alterations. Even though she stopped playing jazz professionally, she continued to play piano on weekends.

Jutta also returned to her first interest, painting. In 1995, a German magazine called Jazz Podium showed her painted drawings of jazz musicians. Jutta said that with painting, "they look at the work, not you."

She mostly stayed away from the music world. Around 1986, she started giving interviews again. For a long time, Blue Note Records did not know where to send her royalty checks. Only a few musicians, like Lee Konitz, stayed in touch with her.

Jutta Hipp died from pancreatic cancer on April 7, 2003, in her apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. She never married, but she was once engaged to Attila Zoller. Although The New York Times obituary said she had no known family, her son was still alive in Germany in 2013.

Playing Style

Jutta Hipp's early piano playing was influenced by Lennie Tristano. Later, her style was compared to Horace Silver's blues-based rhythms.

Ben Ratliff, a writer for The New York Times, described her style in 2003. He said it was "lean, percussive, swinging and interrupted with plenty of rests." He noted it was similar to Horace Silver's style but more calm. The Penguin Guide to Jazz said that Jutta Hipp's music was unique. They noted that her chords sometimes had extra notes, making them sound tense. But she could also play with delicate and soulful melodies.

Legacy

After her death, Jutta Hipp became more recognized as an important female instrumentalist in the New York jazz scene.

In 2011, a street in Leipzig, Germany, was named after her: Jutta-Hipp-Weg.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

See also

In Spanish: Jutta Hipp para niños