Al Haig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the pianist; for the U.S. general & politician see Alexander Haig.

Allan Warren Haig (22 July 1924–16 November 1982) was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop.

Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey. He started playing with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in 1944, and performed and recorded under Gillespie from 1944 to 1946, under Parker from 1948 to 1950, and under Stan Getz from 1949 to 1951. He was part of the celebrated nonet on the first session of Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool. Although Haig became known for his distinctive and pioneering bebop style, he in fact spent much of his career playing in non-jazz contexts.

From Downbeat: August 7, 1969:

    "A Patterson, N.J. jury of 10 men and two women acquitted pianist Al Haig of the charge of strangling his wife, Bonnie, at their Clifton, N.J. home last Oct. 9.
    The verdict, hailed by Haig's many friends and fans, came after 8 1/2 hours of deliberation. The 47-year old (sic) musician testified that his wife was intoxicated and died in a fall down a flight of stairs."

His work was the subject of a revival in the 1970s.