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BIOGRAPHY
David was born into a musical family in upstate New York on December 26th, 1967. His father was a guitarist, and his two older brothers toured and recorded with organist Brother Jack McDuff. David met Brother Jack McDuff when he was just 10 years old where he got a signed autograph that read "HURRY UP!..." meaning grow up kid, so you can be part of my group. Since childhood, drummer David Hilliker had music all around him. He studied early on with David Chitambar and Dick Howard back in New York, which led to studies later on in life with the legendary Ed Thigpen (Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald) and John Von Ohlen (Stan Kenton, Woody Herman). He has spent his time performing all over the Midwest including the Odyssey Ship at Navy Pier; at well-known Jazz Clubs including the Jazz Showcase and Andy’s Jazz Club, and frequently at the Elkhart Jazz Festival. His attitude towards the music and his role as the drummer was to "lay the groove down, swing hard, and stay out of the way; yet be a cushion for the rest of the band to lean on, which in return makes the band sound better."
Throughout his time in the music industry, David has been blessed to play with many great jazz artists (some being his heroes) which include:
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John Clayton
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Benny Green
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Joe Beck
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Ali Ryerson
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Ingrid Jensen
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Bill Watrous
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Joey DeFrancesco
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Melvin Rhyne
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Bill Heid
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Pat Bianchi
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Tony Monaco
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Dave Stryker
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Fareed Haque
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Willie Pickens
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Larry Gray
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Eric Schneider
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Joel "Hotz" Converse
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Lyman "Butch" Strong
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Corey Wilkes
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Marlene Rosenberg
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Robert Irving III
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Ryan Cohen
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Bill Boris
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Tom Vaitsas
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Duke Payne
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Mike Frost
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Sonny Holly
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Duncan McMillan
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Kyle Asche
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Tim Fitzgerald
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Victor Garcia
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Katie Ernst
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Dan Converse
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Barry Keiner
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Ira Sullivan
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Vocalist Frank D'Rone
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Art Davis
David has also played with legendary tenor saxophonists George Coleman (Miles Davis), and the great Von Freeman.
Currently David is promoting two projects - a Tribute to Miles Davis, and a Tribute to Wes Montgomery.
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