Let's make this birthday one to remember.

88 years old (Born on October 11, 1936)

Happy Birthday to the one and only Billy Higgins! You've drummed your way through decades, moving effortlessly from free jazz flair to hard bop brilliance—clearly mastering that delicate art known as "swinging chaos." Your beats kept legends on track, even when their solos threatened to stray into the musical outer space.

Beyond laying rhythms for greats like Ornette Coleman and Lee Morgan, you've shaped generations of eager students at UCLA with wit, wisdom—and patient tolerance for off-tempo beginners. Today we celebrate not just a drummer who's seen everything jazz has thrown his way—but a true maestro who always keeps impeccable time—even if age won't!