Hilton Ruiz dies

[brownie]

Bad news for Hilton Ruiz. Looks like he was assaulted while in New Orleans...

From The New York Daily News today...

JAZZ BIG FOUND IN POOL OF BLOOD IN BIG EASY

Latin jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz, one of New York's most prominent Afro-Cuban musicians, is fighting for his life in a New Orleans hospital after suffering massive head injuries in a mysterious incident.

Ruiz, 53, was in the Big Easy to film a video for a new CD he just recorded when he stopped into a bar called Utopia on world-famous Bourbon St. in the early hours of Friday.

Police found him unconscious in the street in a pool of his own blood at 4:30 a.m. - and he's been in a coma ever since, friends said.

The initial police report listed the cause of his injury as a fall, but cops are now investigating whether Ruiz was assaulted. "Doctors said there was no way it was a fall unless it occurred from a very high floor," said the musician's agent, Joel Chriss.

The agent said it appears Ruiz suffered "some very dangerous blows to the head."

Tracy Connor

Edited June 6, 2006 by brownie

[Harold_Z]

Really bad news.

[Christiern]

Bad, indeed.

[sidewinder]

This is indeed terrible news. Thoughts are with Hilton and here's hoping that things improve.

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Shit.

[robviti]

if for no other reason than i can't stand the new york daily news:

Jazz pianist is in local hospital

It's not known how he became injured

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

By Bob Ussery

Staff writer, The Times-Picayune

Internationally known jazz pianist and composer Hilton Ruiz was in critical condition Tuesday night in the intensive care unit of East Jefferson General Hospital amid unconfirmed rumors he was injured on or near Bourbon Street.

Ruiz's wife, Aida, said Tuesday her Manhattan-born husband, who lives in New Jersey, came to New Orleans on Thursday.

She said she could not provide further details, but their daughter was preparing a news release.

New Orleans police information officers said they were aware of Ruiz's condition only through the inquiries they received from news organizations.

Police spokespersons Bambi Hall and Garry Flot said they were not immediately able to locate records of any incident involving Ruiz.

Valerie Englade, spokeswoman for East Jefferson hospital, said confidentiality regulations prevented her from saying when he was admitted to the hospital.

Aida Ruiz, who was at East Jefferson on Tuesday, said her husband is internationally renowned and has won numerous awards, including the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community in 2002.

"He is just loved by the world," she said. "People love the way he plays the piano." She said in addition to producing many successful instrumental records, her husband is a composer and arranger.

She said he was a prodigy who played his first concert as a child on the piano at Carnegie Hall.

In addition to Alfro-Cuban jazz, she said, Ruiz plays "every style you can think of: be-bop, boogie-woogie, blues."

The Web site hiltonruizmusiccorporation.com said Ruiz has performed on more than 500 recordings, including 30 as leader. He has worked with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Dizzy Gillespie, Abbey Lincoln, David "Fathead" Newman, Chico Freeman, Bill Cosby, Marion Brown, Ray Barretto, Dave Valentin and Geovanni Hidalgo, the Web site said.

He also composed music for movies.

[Dmitry]

From: Katherine Gogel-Stubblefield

Date: May 23, 2006 11:28:41 PM EDT

Subject: Hilton Ruiz

greetings all,

sorry to be bringer of such news...

Hilton Ruiz is in a New Orleans hospital in a coma. I need to send out

an email message to be passed on telling people what has happened and

to ask for everyone's prayers and healing thoughts.

He has been in hospital five days now... that would be he went in on

Friday, 19 May. He was punched hard in the face, all his face bones

were broken, he collapsed, was taken in ambulance to hospital, on route

he had cardiac arrest..... Hilton is in a coma, on life support in

intensive care unit of a New Orleans hospital. The condition is

extremely serious. The doctors are taking very good care of him.

I have spoken to Aida his wife, and to Aida his daughter, who are both

there with him, by his

side, holding his hand, speaking to him, pouring out their love and

asking him to pull through. Both Aida's ask that everyone pray for

Hilton's recovery. We also ask that prayers be for them, sending them

strength and courage for all they are going through. Send LOVE, the

greatest healer of all.

If anyone wants to get in touch with me, that is fine. I will do my

best to respond.

my email: johnstub2445@yahoo.com

On Wednesday, 17 May, here in New York City, Hilton had just finished a

recording dedicated to and to benefit the musicians and people of New

Orleans, who had suffered so terribly from the effects of Hurricaine

Katrina last year. He then flew down to New Orleans to make a

promotion video for the recording. We are all truly shocked and

devastated at learning that he is now in such a dire situation.

Let us let the universe know that we believe Hilton is strong and will

soon be back in New York City and at his home in New Jersey surrounded

by the many who love and cherish him.

peace and harmony through music,

Katherine Gogel-Stubblefield

[chris olivarez]

I'll be thinking good thoughts for Hilton.

[CJ Shearn]

oh man, this is terrible I hope Hilton makes it.

[robviti]

Hilton Ruiz’s injuries resulted from fall

‘It kind of looks like he tripped or fell’ says attorney Mary E. Howell

Updated: 10:17 p.m. ET May 25, 2006

NEW ORLEANS - The injuries that left jazz pianist and composer Hilton Ruiz comatose in a New Orleans hospital were caused by a fall, not an attack, a representative for his family said Thursday.

“It kind of looks like he tripped or fell, and fell down and hit the curb” face-first, attorney Mary E. Howell said.

Ruiz’s agent earlier this week questioned whether the injuries could have been caused by an attack. But Howell and a police spokesman said, based on witness accounts, that Ruiz fell around 5 a.m. last Friday.

Officials “are very comfortable that what happened is what was originally reported, which was that he was not a victim of a crime,” Howell said. “He suffered and had an accident. It was a tragic accident.”

Ruiz, whose 54th birthday is May 29, has been comatose since he arrived at the hospital. His medical problems include not only the injuries but a heart attack suffered on the way.

His agent, Joel Chriss, said Wednesday that Ruiz had a broken skull and many broken bones in his face, and also had a heart attack in the ambulance that picked him up on Bourbon Street.

The lack of injuries elsewhere made doctors suspect that Ruiz’s injuries were not accidental, he said Wednesday.

Capt. John Bryson, head of the department’s public information office, said earlier Thursday that because Ruiz was picked up on a medical call rather than as a crime victim, police could say only that he had fallen.

“It’s horrible because it’s a tragic fall. And it happens,” he said.

Ruiz, of Teaneck, N.J., has been described as one of the most versatile musicians in jazz, playing bop, Afro-Cuban, stride and many other styles.

He came to New Orleans on Thursday with Marco Matute, a producer for the M27 World label, to shoot video to go along with a Hurricane Katrina benefit CD of New Orleans music, Howell said.

© 2006 The Associated Press.

Edited May 26, 2006 by jazzshrink

[AllenLowe]

coming from the New Orleans police I would take this with a giant grain of sand - they probably want to just close the case - it sounds VERY fishy to me -

[brownie]

coming from the New Orleans police I would take this with a giant grain of sand - they probably want to just close the case - it sounds VERY fishy to me -

VERY fishy indeed.

Specially when one reads this extract from a newsstory in The Ottawa Citizen today:

Jazz festival loses headliner

Pianist Hilton Ruiz clings to life following beating

Doug Fischer

The Ottawa Citizen

Friday, May 26, 2006

One of the headliners booked for this summer's Ottawa Jazz Festival suffered massive head injuries in a "horrendously atrocious" beating in New Orleans late last week.

Pianist Hilton Ruiz, one of New York's most prominent Afro-Cuban musicians, has been in a coma for nearly a week after he was found on a sidewalk just off Bourbon Street in a pool of blood.

Police initially thought he had fallen from a balcony several storeys above, but doctors later determined Ruiz had been "smashed repeatedly all over his head by some very dangerous blows," Capt. Kevin Anderson said yesterday.

"It was a horrendously atrocious attack -- there is no other way to describe it. He is fighting for his life."

Capt. Anderson said police have no suspects or witnesses, nor do they have a motive. Ruiz was to begin filming a video for his new CD the next morning.

The attack has forced the cancellation of an extensive tour of concerts and summer jazz festivals, including an appearance June 24 on the main stage of the TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival.

... more...

Does not look like injuries sustained by somebody who 'tripped or fell, and fell down and hit the curb” face-first'.

[Ken Dryden]

New Orleans has long been a dangerous place to walk alone at night.

I hope that Ruiz recovers, though the chance he'll be able to identify

his attackers is remote.

CNN hasn't bothered to give this story any coverage.

[Robert J]

I have access to dowjones/reuters at work, and the many news stories seem to contradict one another. It's hard not to believe a story that has his family and ex-wife quoted. This one is one from today.

© 2006 The Times Picayune.

26 May 2006

Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.

A week after he was found unconscious in a pool of blood on Bourbon Street, jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz remained in critical condition Thursday, but his family members said they no longer suspect he was attacked.

Ruiz's relatives are satisfied with the New Orleans Police Department's account of the incident as an accident, said Mary Howell, a local lawyer and spokeswoman for the Ruiz family.

"Mr. Ruiz was on Bourbon Street and stumbled while walking across the street, hitting his face on the side of the curb," NOPD spokeswoman Bambi Hall said.

"The evidence is clear. No one beat him, no one robbed him and there was no criminal act whatsoever," Hall said.

For nearly a week, rumors that the famed jazzman was beaten after leaving a Bourbon Street bar had circulated from coast to coast. Newspaper reports quoted family and friends questioning police reports that Ruiz stumbled and fell, hitting his head.

"There were a lot of different accounts that the family investigated," Howell said Thursday. "The family is now convinced that this was an accident, a tragic accident."

Howell said the family is "very appreciative" of the efforts shown by NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley in getting to the bottom of Ruiz's condition.

Ruiz, whose 54th birthday is Monday, was found unconscious and bleeding May 19 about 4:30 a.m.

Ruiz's heart stopped on the way to the hospital, but he was resuscitated, according to Joel Chriss, Ruiz's longtime friend and manager.

Howell said Ruiz remained in critical condition Thursday night at East Jefferson General Hospital. Ruiz, of Teaneck, N.J., was in the city for radio and television interviews promoting a pending CD showcasing New Orleans music, Chriss said.

Ruiz is renowned in jazz circles for his Afro-Cuban jazz and bop music. His teachers included jazz pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams, and he spent four years working with saxophone player Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

"I'm incredibly saddened," Chriss said. "But I'm trying to stay positive. We all know the reality may not turn out well. I know he wanted to live long and play music until he was an old man. The fact that that may not happen is very sad."

The accident has taken an emotional toll on the family, especially on Ruiz's ex-wife who is his best friend, Chriss said. Chriss said she's "a mess" right now and "that no one in the world knows either one of them better than the other." Those close to Ruiz said they're hoping the beat will go on for the one-time child prodigy, who at 8 years old played a gig at Carnegie Recital Hall.

Ruiz was performing with Latin groups in his early teens. His first recording, at age 14, was with a group called Ray Jay and the East Siders. While still in his teens, Ruiz worked with tenor saxophonists Frank Foster and Joe Henderson and trumpeters Joe Newman, Freddie Hubbard and Cal Massey.

The many musicians with whom he has since worked have included Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Mingus.

He was among musicians featured on the 1997 video "The Best of Latin Jazz," and his song "Something Grand" is part of the "American Beauty" soundtrack.

"We're all praying for a miracle," Chriss said. "Where there is breath there is hope."

[robviti]

There's also a quote from his agent, who said Ruiz was found with his Rolex watch, cash and credit cards still on him. So if it was an attack, it was a senseless one (not that any assault makes any real sense).

I'm particularly saddened by the news because I was very much looking forward to seeing him perform in massachusetts just two weeks from now.

Edited May 26, 2006 by jazzshrink

[JSngry]

What's up w/the heart attack on the way to the hospital?

And why is the family suddenly "satisfied" witht he police account?

Hmmmm....

[7/4]

But to do that kind of damage from falling off a curb? I wonder if he was loaded...

[Rooster_Ties]

And why is the family suddenly "satisfied" witht he police account?

Yeah, that's the one that has me really wondering.

[AllenLowe]

it is possible - that's how Dave Tough died - from falling on a sidewalk, though he was blind drunk -

[mikeweil]

Terrible news, no matter how it happened - my thoughts are with him.

A similar discussion is on the CongaBoard.

Edited May 26, 2006 by mikeweil

[robviti]

i'm not sure there's anything sudden about it, nor do i think there's any real sense of satisfaction in the hearts of his family. here's my thinking: the incident occured a week ago. there has been an investigation that included eyewitness accounts. perhaps the family is just trying to come to grips with what must be a terribly difficult situation by focusing on their loved one who is clinging to life, rather than on the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. i think i'll do the same and bow out of any further discussion, debate, or speculation. in no way is this meant as a criticism of anyone who has posted in this thread. it's just a personal decision.

[ep1str0phy]

Regardless of the intrigue, I hope the guy makes it. Best wishes.

[brownie]

Hilton Ruiz turns 54 today.

A very sad birthday!

Hope he makes it through his current ordeal...

[marcello]

I have quite a few Ruiz recordings, two of my favorites are Momments Notice with George Coleman, and Island Eyes. I always liked him after seeing him with Rahsaan.

That said, at a gig at Smoke last Fall he acted quite strange and disoriented; not at all together.

And yeah, you can do a lot of damage falling face first with dead wieght, onto a curb.

Here's wishing him well.

[sidewinder]

Here's continuing to wish Hilton well. There's no other musician I saw more of during the late 70s/early 80s at Ronnie Scotts than Hilton - he and George Coleman were both regular visitors. Great memories of that Coleman quartet with David Williams and Billy Higgins.