Margie Hyams

American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, and arranger

Marjorie Hyams (August 9, 1920 – June 14, 2012) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, and arranger. She began her career as a vibraphonist in the 1940s, playing with Woody Herman (from 1944 to 1945), the Hip Chicks (1945), Mary Lou Williams (1946), Charlie Ventura (1946), George Shearing (from 1949 to 1950), and led her own groups, including a trio, which stayed together from 1945 to 1948, performing on 52nd Street in Manhattan. The media, marquees, and promos often spelled her first name "Margie", but she insisted that it was spelled with a "j".

Hyams had her own trio and quartet (1940–1944) and played with Woody Herman (1944–1945) and Flip Phillips in the mid 1940s. She formed another trio with guitarists such as Tal Farlow, Mundell Lowe, and Billy Bauer from 1945 to 1948. She also arranged and sang with Charlie Ventura, and recorded with Mary Lou Williams. Hyams joined George Shearing from 1949 to 1950.

Jack Siefert (born 1918), a lifelong friend of Woody Herman, introduced Hyams to Herman, who had already broken convention by hiring a female instrumentalist in 1941, Billie Rogers (born 1919). Rogers played trumpet with Herman until 1943. Hyams is one of Woody's exceptional alumni vibraphonists that included Terry Gibbs, Red Norvo, and Milt Jackson, all of whom, according to jazz author Doug Ramsey, were part of a Who's Who quality of an imaginary line up that was staggering. In a sense, you weren't really looked upon as a musician, especially in clubs. There was more interest in what you were going to wear or how your hair was fixed — they just wanted you to look attractive, ultra feminine, largely because you were doing something they didn't consider feminine. Most of the time I fought it and didn't listen to them. [One of the ways you fought it was insisting on wearing a band uniform instead of a dress.] Only in retrospect, when you start looking back and analyzing, you can see the obstacles that were put in front of you. I just thought at the time that I was too young to handle it, but now I see that it was really rampant chauvinism.

Hyams was a founder member of Shearing's world famous quintet (1949 50) which achieved huge popularity and introduced an entirely new and much imitated ensemble sound in small group modern jazz. Shearing in his autobiography called Hyams 'a very fine musician a thoroughly schooled classical pianist, well versed in fugues and so on, but she'd taken up vibes in the early 1940s We liked one another and got on very well. She also wrote some originals for the Quintet including November Seascape [but she] left after about a year and a half I think she just got tired of working for someone else and traveling so much, even though she was drawing a good salary.'

On June 6, 1950, Marjie Hyams married William G. Ericsson (1927–1978) in Chicago, and, from 1951 to 1970, played, taught, and arranged in Chicago. Marjie and Bill had three children: Lisa, Kristin (deceased) and Tod. Marjie's husband Bill had the distinction of becoming the youngest CEO of a major bank at the age of 42. Her brother, Mark Hyams (1914–2007), was a jazz pianist who played with big bands, including those of Will Hudson (mid 1930s) and Spud Murphy (late 1930s). Mark married L'Ana Webster (née Alleman; 1912–1997), a saxophonist and bandleader who was once married to jazz guitarist Jimmie Webster (1908–1978).