My friend Lee Hildebrand died in January 2025 at the age of 78. I have some words of remembrance.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Lee started out as a drummer. “He had a way of putting West Coast styling on a Chicago shuffle,” was how bassist Henry Oden described Lee’s playing. When music did not pan out for him financially, Lee turned to writing about music, his main focus for the rest of his life.
My first encounters with Lee took place in the late 1970s, when he was music editor of the East Bay Express, a widely read weekly. Under his leadership, the paper had a robust music section covering multiple genres. Lee was always interested in bringing in new writers and perspectives. He had a passion for covering new artists, and older artists in need of the exposure. He was attentive to the state of local venues, always scoping out emerging clubs and what they were up to. Watching Lee and his work at the Express, I came to understand the interconnectedness of these pieces and how they were all necessary for a healthy jazz ecology.
Lee had always freelanced for many different publications, but when his gig at the Express came to an end, he started contributing to the San Francisco Chronicle, the largest daily in northern California and a plum assignment. “Lee brought Black music into [the Sunday Datebook],” said the Chronicle’s Joel Selvin, who had recruited Lee.
In the 2010s, when I was representing Berkeley’s Jazzschool and its packed calendar of concerts, Lee would regularly call me—not email me—to see if there was something coming up that he could pitch to the Chron. “Whatcha got?” he’d say. I’d run down the list and he’d seize on something—not always the show I’d expected would get his attention.
One day we were going down the list, and when I said “Fay Victor,” he said “Yes! I’ve been hearing about her.” Lee wrote a big Chronicle feature on the occasion of Fay’s West Coast debut. The show sold out.
Lee’s writing career came to an end in 2018, when he suffered a stroke. A benefit concert was previewed in the Chron, quoting Lee as saying of his current situation: “I’m not OK, but I’m all right.” That line epitomizes Lee’s down-to-earthness and humor, which infused his writing.
Although he wrote or contributed to five books on music, Lee is not as well known outside the Bay Area as he deserves to be.
At his memorial service, several attendees floated the idea of rounding up Lee’s vast output—hundreds of liner notes, countless articles in publications small and large—for some kind of collection. His voice, his encyclopedic knowledge, and his passion for the music as reflected in his writing remain a gift that hopefully can continue to be shared.
Lee Hildebrand’s works include Images of the Blues with photos by Lee Tanner, Bay Area Blues with photos by Michelle Vignes, Colors and Chords: The Art of Johnny Otis, and Stars of Soul and Rhythm and Blues.
Terri Hinte, jazz publicist, was named a JJA Jazz Hero in 2006, and has been a member of the JJA board since 2022.
