Jazz King Solomon Hicks Comes to Hampton Bays Friday

“I got my start at The Cotton Club in Harlem,” says Solomon Hicks. “I haven’t been to the Hamptons in a long, long time and I’m really excited to play there.” Hicks is talking jazz. Sinatra, Count Basie, Memphis’ Beale Street, he’s cool with it all. And at 28 years of age, he seems too young for the nickname “King.”

But as he chats about the music world, he’s clearly on top of something. “I’m bringing my trio,” he adds.

The King Solomon Hicks Trio will play the big room at Canoe Place in Hampton Bays this weekend.

“We’re very excited he’s coming,” says Canoe Place General Manager Matthew Kristan. “We started hosting music in our smaller Study, but as the demand grew we moved into the Pavillion, but we’ve outgrown that space so now we are using the Grand Ballroom. It’s an exciting continuation of the music history here.”

When told that Count Basie actually played in the same room, Hicks is blown away. “I didn’t realize Count Basie played at Canoe Place, that’s very cool,” he says.

A guitarist, vocalist and composer, Hicks has opened for everyone from Jeff Beck and Tony Bennett to Ringo Starr, so his appeal stretches beyond the jazz world. “We just got back from touring with Burton Cummings from the band The Guess Who,” he points out.

He says his background is jazz but like New York City, there’s a lot of different musical styles, and he likes them all. “You go downtown and you’ve got rock, you go to East Harlem and you’ve got salsa and merengue, so I’m blessed to have come up in that world.” He’s influenced by Eric Clapton and another King: B.B.

Hicks won the 2021 Blues Music Award for Best Emerging Artist for his 2020 CD release, Harlem on Provogue Records. The set, produced/recorded by multiple Grammy award winner Kirk Yano — who’s worked with Miles Davis, Public Enemy and Mariah Carey — showcases Hicks as a writer, player and interpreter.

The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 8. Admission is $35. The King will be in the building. And if you attend? Hicks says he knows a good crowd when he sees one. No matter the size.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s five people or 5,000 — if I can see someone tapping their foot, into it, connected to the music, then that’s what makes a good audience.”

Canoe Place Inn & Cottages is located at 239 E. Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays. Call 631-763-6300 or visit canoeplace.com.