  robert henry "bobby" timmons (december 19, 1935 â march 1, 1974) was an american jazz pianist and composer. he was a sideman in art blakey's jazz messengers for two periods (july 1958 to september 1959; february 1960 to june 1961), between which he was part of cannonball adderley's band. several of timmons' compositions written when part of these bands â including "moanin'", "dat dere", and "this here" â enjoyed commercial success and brought him more attention. in the early and mid-1960s he led a series of piano trios that toured and recorded extensively. timmons was strongly associated with the soul jazz style that he helped initiate; this link to apparently simple writing and playing, coupled with drug and alcohol addiction, led to a decline in his career. timmons died, aged 38, from cirrhosis. his contribution to jazz remains undervalued. ==early life== timmons was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, the son of a minister.kernfeld, barry "timmons, bobby". the new grove dictionary of jazz (2nd edition). grove music online. oxford music online. oxford university press. retrieved july 29, 2013. (subscription required.) he had a sister, eleanor.panken, ted "for the 78th birthday anniversary of bobby timmons (1935â1974), a liner note and five interviews conducted for it". (december 19, 2013) transcript of interview with tootie heath. tedpanken.wordpress.com both of his parents, and several aunts and uncles, played the piano. from an early age timmons studied music with an uncle, robert habershaw, who also taught mccoy tyner.taylor, leon (june 5, 2000) "elsie wright loved kids, fussed at their noisy play". philly.com retrieved july 30, 2013. timmons first played at the church where his grandfather was minister;
1935_births 1974_deaths American_jazz_composers American_jazz_pianists Atlantic_Records_artists Capitol_Records_artists Deaths_from_cirrhosis Jazz_Messengers Mainstream_jazz_pianists Milestone_Records_artists Musicians_from_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania Prestige_Records_artists Riverside_Records_artists Soul-jazz_pianists