SOLOMON HICKS
“King” Solomon Hicks es un guitarrista de 23 años nacido y criado en el barrio de Harlem, en Nueva York.
Con solo 13 años empezó a tocar en el Cotton Club como solista en una banda de 17 músicos. Aún sigue haciéndolo, pero con su propia banda, y también en los más prestigiosos clubes de música en directo de Nueva York como Iridium, B.B. King’s, Red Rooster, etc.
Además de recibir el cariñoso mote de “Pequeño B.B. King” [Lil’ B.B.], le ha dado tiempo a tocar en el KISS Kruise V, en la gira de Joe Bonamassa Blues Cruise, en España en los festivales de Béjar, Cazorla y San Javier, en Jazz in Marciac en Francia o en Japón en el Tokyo Cotton Club.
Ha aparecido en publicaciones tan prestigiosas como The Washington Post, The New York Times, y fue portada en la revista Blues Blast Magazine en noviembre de 2016.
Solomon ha compartido escenario con Tony Bennett, The Destroyers [George Thorogood], Neal Evans [Jack White, Soulive], John Nemeth, Davey Knowles, Mike Stern y muchos otros grandes artistas.
“KING” SOLOMON HICKS IS A 22-YEAR-OLD GUITARIST/VOCALIST FROM THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF NEW YORK CITY AKA HARLEM, NY.
At the age of 13 Solomon started playing with the Cotton Club 17-piece band as Lead Guitarist and still continues to perform there.
Along with being called “Lil’ B.B.” he played the KISS Kruise V, 2017 Joe Bonamassa Blues Cruise, Spain [FESTIVAL DE BLUES DE BÉJAR-Blues CAZORLA-San Javier], Jazz Marciac in France, and the Tokyo Cotton Club.
He has been featured in The Washington Post, New York Daily News, The New York Times, Amsterdam News, November 2016 front cover of Blues Blast magazine, Montana’s Bigfork Eagle, New Jersey Jazz Society News, and the PBS TV series American Music.
Solomon has performed with Tony Bennett, The Destroyers (George Thorogood), Neal Evans (Soulive), Jimmy Vivino (Bandleader for Conan O’Brien), Sam Moore, Marcus King, Stax Songwriter William Bell, John Nemeth, Blind Boy Paxton, Roger Earl (Foghat), Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown), Davey Knowles, Ne-Yo, Jon Hendricks, Mike Stern and Lee Ritenour.
He performs regularly in NYC at The Iridium, BB Kings, Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar, The Red Rooster, Terra Blues, Minton’s Playhouse and Ginny’s.
Solomon has taught music at the Children’s Aid Society , is a Harlem Arts Alliance member, supporter of the NYC Jazzmobile and a member of The Blues Foundation in Memphis.
His first major release on Mascot Label Group will hit the streets in late Spring 2018.
Solomon loves La Bella Strings and plays a Benedetto GA35 Guitar.
“King” Solomon Hicks (born February 8, 1995) is an American guitarist, blues, jazz singer, and composer. His style of music ranges from jazz, blues, classical, gospel, R&B, funk, Afro-Cuban, and classic rock. Hicks has been a blues guitarist since he was 13. He plays a Benedetto GA35 guitar. Benedetto jazz guitars are hand crafted by Robert Benedetto an American luthier of archtop jazz guitars. He teaches beginning and advanced guitar along with music theory.
He is endorsed by Benedetto guitars. His first recording was when he was 14 with the Cotton Club All-Star Band at the age of 14. The CD is called Embryonic. He tours nationally and internationally. He has toured in Spain, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, and the United States.
Hicks received his first guitar lessons at the age six. His mother Holly Hicks was his first tutor. She schooled him in the history of African-American music.[20] He first started out learning soul music, blues, and then on to Jimi Hendrix style funk. He was playing music before he learned to read music. He attended the Harlem School of Arts, and Jazzmobile's training program. His parents took the young Hicks to jam sessions where he got to sit in. This parents took him to such clubs in Harlem as the Lenox Lounge, and St. Nick's Pub in Harlem. At an early age Hicks sat in on jam sessions with musicians such as Patience Higgins, Charles Earland, and Jimmy McGriff.
At the age of 13 he starting playing with the Cotton Club in New York City's 17-piece band as a lead guitarist. He still performs at the Cotton Club, and as been performing there for nine years.
At Harlem's School of the Arts and at Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts he studied Jazz, Classical and Afro-Cuban guitar. He attended Jazzmobile workshops where he studied Bebop with Barry Harris. Solomon says that his first mentor was Melvin Sparks.
At an early age Solomon starting performing at the New Amsterdam Musical Association in Harlem (NAMA), and at the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Career
In 2010 Hicks performed during the New York Knicks game. He has performed at the United Nations in New York City. In 2009 he performed for the U.S. Open,[clarification needed] and has performances for the United Nations.
He has performed for former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, as well as performing for former Governor of New York David Paterson, and former Congressman Charlie Rangel.
Hicks has performed at the KISS Kruise V, the Joe Bonamassa Blues Cruise in 2017, the FESTIVAL DE BLUES DE BÉJAR-Blues CAZORLA-San Javier in Spain, in France at the Jazz Marciac, and the Cotton Club in Tokyo. He has performed at music festivals in Spain, Germany, France, Japan, Denmark, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, and United States of America music festivals.
He has performed with artists including Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Antoinette Montague, Jay Hoggard, Alvester Garnett, Mike Stern, Lee Ritenour, Bruce Springsteen, Neal Evans Soulive, The Destroyers George Thorogood, The Marcus King Band, Jimmy Vivino, Danny Mixon, Sam Moore, William Bell (singer), Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton, John Németh, Roger Earl (Foghat), Ne-Yo, Davy Knowles, Kim Simmonds -Savoy Brown, Gregg Allman, Eric Gales, Russell Malone, Stanley Banks, the B.B. King Blues Band (with Junior Mack), Kermit Ruffins, Lonnie Youngblood, Southside Johnny, Elvin Bishop, Belden Bullock, T. K. Blue, Danny Mixon, and Winard Harper.
Hicks teaches music, and has taught music at the Children's Aid Society in New York City.
He performs regularly in New York City at the Iridium, Ashford and Simpson's Sugar Bar, The Red Rooster, Terra Blues, Ginny’s, and Minton's Playhouse. He performs regularly in New Jersey at Shanghai Jazz.
His band performs regularly at the Cotton Club on Blues Fridays and Swing Dance Mondays with his band the King Solomon Hicks Blues Quintet.
Hicks is a member of the Harlem Arts Alliance member. He performs and is a supporter of New York City's Jazzmobile, and is a member of The Blues Foundation headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hicks opened for Ringo Starr and Jeff Beck at the Holland International Blues Festival in June 2018 in Blues Village Grolloo, the Netherlands.
In 2018 he toured with Beth Hart, performing in Las Vegas, Nevada, the New Orleans, Louisiana.
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