Hilton Ruiz

Who was Hilton Ruiz?

Hilton Ruiz was an Rican American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player. He was of Puerto Rican descent.

Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of five, at age eight he performed at Carnegie Hall. While still in his teens he gigged with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Newman and others. Later, he was Roland Kirk's main pianist from 1974 to 1977 and was featured on such records as The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. Ruiz also recorded several solo albums between the 1980s and 2000s.

On May 19, 2006, Ruiz was found unconscious on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where he had gone to promote a CD benefiting the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The police filed a report that he had injured himself in an accidental fall. Ruiz was hospitalized in a coma and died without regaining consciousness a week after his 54th birthday. Ruiz was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.

He was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in New York City.