Milt Hinton and Louis Armstrong, backstage together in Japan in 1953.
To help support the institute and qualified students interested in attending, Oberlin has also been gifted the $250,000 Milton J. Hinton Scholarship Fund, established in 1980 by friends and family of Hinton on the occasion of his 70th birthday. “Milt and Mona Hinton were committed to leaving their papers and memorabilia—their gift—to an institution that would not only appreciate and care for it, but would also make everything readily accessible to anyone who was interested,” says David G. Berger, a lifelong friend of the Hintons and co-executor of the Hinton estate. Along with his wife Holly Maxson, Berger has devoted more than 30 years to organizing the Hintons’ photographs and artifacts. Oberlin’s partnership with the Hinton estate was facilitated by Oberlin Professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass Peter Dominguez, who was a friend of ▲
ABOUT THE HINTON INSTITUTE Throughout his extraordinary career, Milt Hinton greatly valued each opportunity to share his musical gifts with young musicians. It was through this generous spirit that he first met 15-year-old David Berger, a bassist who wrote to Hinton in hopes of procuring a few lessons back in 1956. Swamped with countless projects, Hinton still cleared a Saturday morning to welcome the boy to his home. The two bonded immediately, and from that first meeting blossomed a lifelong friendship. Thanks to Berger, and later to art conservator Holly Maxson, Hinton’s lifetime of astounding experiences and artifacts have been expertly curated to be shared with the world. “I’ve always believed you don’t truly know something yourself until you can take it from your mind and put it into someone else’s,” Hinton once said. “I also know that the only way we continue to live on this earth is by giving our talents to future generations.” In tribute to Hinton and his enduring legacy, Oberlin hosted the inaugural Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass June 8-15, 2014. Designed for college and teen bass students, the Hinton Institute consisted of a week of master classes, performances, films, bass ensembles, studio sessions, and more. Directed by Professor Peter Dominguez, the program featured some of the nation’s finest teachers and performers and focused on a comprehensive range of genres. The institute also served as the debut of The Way I See It, a collection of Hinton photography displayed in the conservatory lounge. The photos are a precursor to an extensive exhibit on Hinton’s photography, which opens in September at the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass will return to Oberlin in summer 2016 and continue every alternate year. For more information, search “Hinton” at oberlin.edu.
Hinton’s and, as a young performer, won the first-ever Milton J. Hinton Scholarship in 1980. “Milt Hinton’s contributions as a musician and humanitarian remain unique and genuine,” says Dominguez. “He represents an exceptional example of longevity in an illustrious performing career and a righteous individual who lived his life with honesty and relevance.” Oberlin’s relationship with the Hinton estate further bolsters its reputation as a world leader in the study of jazz. The institution’s profound commitment is evidenced in its four-year-old Bertram and Judith Kohl Building for jazz studies, which houses the Hinton Collection, the more than 100,000 recordings that make up the Neumann Jazz Collection, and the nearly 200 images that constitute the Frank Kuchirchuk Collection of Jazz Photography.
MILT HINTON BY THE NUMBERS Photos taken by Hinton throughout his career, beginning in 1935.
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Number of photos by Hinton on loan to the Allen Memorial Art Museum.
Number of jazz recordings that feature a Hinton performance credit.