CHICO HAMILTON
![Chico Hamilton poses for a portrait c. 1958 in Los Angeles, Calif.](http://heroesofjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_2130.jpg)
![Chico Hamilton 7000](http://heroesofjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Chico-Hamilton-7000.jpg)
Foreststorn “Chico” Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013)[1] was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, first with a quintet featuring the cello as a lead instrument, an unusual choice for a jazz band in the 1950s, and subsequently leading bands that performed cool jazz, post bop, and jazz fusion.