Dave Hildinger
1928 – 2020
We all remember a teacher and musician who made a difference in our lives. For many musicians in Ottawa, that teacher and musician is Dave Hildinger.
There isn’t enough room in this article to include all the tributes and wonderful stories about Dave. He has graced us with his extraordinary musicianship, his teaching, his mentoring, and his friendship.
Dave Hildinger was born in 1928 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His parents owned a funeral home, which was in a three-storey building. The funeral home was on the first floor, the family lived on the second floor, and the third floor was rented out. Dave had his first exposure to jazz, listening to the three jazz musicians who lived on the third floor. The Hildinger funeral home had a grand piano, where Dave did his practicing. There was usually a deceased person on display in a coffin beside the piano, so Dave learned to deal with a tough audience at a young age. At the age of 14 or 15, Dave started gigging in bars by lying about his age. In nearby Detroit, he gained a lot of education by visiting bars where he saw Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, and others.
Dave received his Master’s in Music Performance in 1951 from the University of Michigan, and that year he left to serve in Korea. His bad eyesight kept him out of action, but he spent the next two years playing for the troops. When he returned from Korea, he moved to New York City, where he studied at the Manhattan School of Music and worked part time for the Radio City Orchestra. He played and recorded with the legendary Sauter-Finnegan Orchestra, and also performed with the Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Toledo symphony orchestras.
In 1957 he moved to Germany, where he lived until 1970. He became well known in Europe as a composer, arranger, and pianist for TV, radio, records, films, and concerts. In 1967 he became the conductor of the RIAS-Berlin Radio Orchestra. On a trip back to the US in 1960, he proposed to Nancy, the love of his life. They were married and Nancy joined Dave in Germany.
When Dave and Nancy decided that they wanted to return to North America, Dave was offered work in LA, New York, and Ottawa. Because they wanted to raise their children in a small city, they chose Ottawa, and for the first two years in Ottawa, Dave worked as a music teacher at Woodroffe High School and in 1972 he was offered a job at the University of Ottawa….during this time Dave began gigging with Ottawa musicians.
Dave’s trio with Roddy Ellias and Scott Alexander was superb. Dave played beautiful melodic and harmonic ideas; there was never any expression in his face or his body. There wasn’t a trace of showmanship…he was all about the music.
So many musicians have expressed an appreciation for Dave’s musicianship:
Rene Lavoie was in New York in 1987 studying with Joe Allard and Eddie Daniels. Rene says “Dave contacted me to let me know that he was going to be playing in New York City with the legendary Sauter-Finnegan band. The concert was to be held at the Town Hall, and it was a reunion of the remaining musicians and top jazz players in New York. Dave invited me as a guest to attend the rehearsal and concert. When I got to the rehearsal, I was stunned by the musicians present. Jim Hall was on guitar, Terry Clark on drums, Wayne André on trombone, Harvey Phillips on tuba. The sax section included all four members of the New York sax quartet headed by Wally Cane and Don Ashworth, the tenor player from the Tonight Show band. The trumpets included John Faddis and Lou Solof. The band rehearsed all afternoon with no complaints from anyone, and then they played the complete program that night. I had never heard the band before. It was a life-changing experience. Dave played piano and was absolutely beaming at the end of the gig. This was the last gig of this incredible band. I was privileged to be there.”
Robin Moir wrote about how impressed she was by Dave’s skill as an accompanist. She said, “Dave is the finest accompanist I’ve ever worked with. He listens intently and anticipates where the singer is going. I loved working with him. His work ethic was incredible, and he loved rehearsing, always making sure that everyone felt confident. What was always so wonderful was that no matter how many times a song had been rehearsed and performed, each time there were subtle differences. He made allowances when I changed up and went someplace new, and he felt free to do the same.”
Mark Ferguson:
One of the things that impressed me about Dave as a teacher was the interest that he had in his students. For example, when I brought an original composition to Dave’s ensemble, we read through the tune, and the next week Dave had it memorized and didn’t require a chart. I was greatly encouraged by his interest in my work and the respect that he showed to me by putting time into learning my tune. And now that I’m a teacher, I try to apply the lessons in teaching that I learned from Dave.
John wrote that Dave Hildinger was more than his teacher – Dave was his mentor. “He started a jazz improv course and so many of us signed up – it was amazing. Roddy Ellias helped, and I got to know him well that way. Later on, I ended up working with Dave on gigs, and it was a big deal for me to get asked by either Dave or Roddy to play with them. I remember rehearsing at Dave’s house in Old Ottawa South. Nancy seemed to keep the Hildinger household on an even keel. I learned so many tunes thanks to Dave, and I learned how to learn tunes. He was one of the first people to show me how jazz tunes or standards were based on formulae. At U of O, I was in the jazz ensemble. Dave did almost all the arrangements, writing for whoever was in the band – maybe alto, tenor, baritone sax, French horn, three trumpets, two or three bones, rhythm section, and percussion. And then the next year, it might be different. Dave influenced me in terms of how to improvise and how to organize thoughts. I learned about musicians and the jazz tradition. He loved Bill Evans, Miles, Airto, Hermeto Pascoal, Art Farmer, and the list goes on. He turned me on to lots of jazz musicians who were completely new to me. I still have handouts from the courses he taught: commercial arranging, orchestration, and jazz improvisation. His approach was practical and useful. He mentored and helped me in so many ways.”
Roddy Ellias:
Roddy wrote that, “Dave is a mentor, colleague, and a good friend. Because of him I went back to school at age 30 to pursue studies in classical music at U of O. His theory courses were inspiring, and he introduced me to the wonderful music of Steven Gellman, who was teaching composition. Dave and I played together in a duo for about ten years. We played original music and often got together just to play and improvise freely. This helped us connect on many levels. Dave played on my first recording in 1979, with Scott Alexander, Kevan MacKenzie, Hugh Marsh, Robin Moir and Joe Turner. I was a regular fixture at Dave and Nancy’s house for supper in those days. It was a very happy and musical time.”
Dave’s wife, Nancy, passed away in 2012, and the Local deeply regrets to inform the membership that Dave passed away in March 29, 2020, at the age of 91.
Mark Ferguson
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Source: eNews Harp, June 2020