Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, and even in high school played with future jazz greats such as Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon and Buddy Collette. Straight out of school Hamilton was playing with the stars of the day, including Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and singers like Billie Holiday and Lena Horne. With his first group, he put the cello front and centre, and established a reputation for unconventional instrumentation. His later groups went on to include Eric Dolphy and Gabor Szabo, before he turned to composing soundtracks and jingles for film, TV and radio. He remained active right up until his death at 92.
Photo: Steve Kagan / Getty Images
