| Earl Hines's father was a brass band cornetist, and his mother a church organist. Hines at first intended to follow his father's example and play cornet, but then developed a greater attraction to the piano.
At the start of the 1920's he was playing professionally around Pittsburgh. About 1923 he moved to Chicago, Illinois, then the world's jazz capital. He played with the bands of Carroll Dikerson and Erskine Tate, then in 1927 began playing with Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was very impressed with Earl Hines' playing style, quite creative and avante guarde for the era. That year Armstrong revamped his Okeh Records recording band, 'Louis Armstrong's Hot Five', and replaced his wife Lil Hardin Armstrong with Hines. |
