Milton Hamilton

Latin/Jazz/Funk pianist . Music teacher at the Third Street Music School Settlement, when he formed Yambú with colleague Nuyorican bassist Ramón Rodríguez. Their self-titled 1975 debut was a heady mix of Latin, soul, jazz, rock and disco. The A side was a version of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny", an old jazz standard popular with Latin musicians but updated in a "Hustle" style by Hamilton. The B side "Hippopotamus", was a "Brazilian Hustle" penned by the pianist. This record is sought after by beat junkies for the massive break on “Hippopotamus.” Little did Yambú, label boss Jesse Moskowitz and producer/partner Al Santiago know their single would be part of starting something much bigger than any of them would have believed back then. To the envy of other labels, "Sunny" started taking off in clubs and radio, even being licensed to RCA France. After the first pressing sold out, Moskowitz decided to do a 12-inch version, one of the first of its kind, to satisfy DJ demand for higher fidelity and volume. In 1976, Milton formed his solo group, Milton Hamilton Crystalized. He released the great Disco Madness album, featuring “My Love Supreme” and covers of “Poinciana” and “Theme from Mahoghany.” “My Love Supreme” was released on 7” format and immediately hit the Billboard disco charts. There is also an extremely rare promo 12” DJ Copy with the full 5.10 minutes version of the tune.

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