Hilton Ruiz--RIP

Pianist Hilton Ruiz in Critical Condition By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press Writer

May 24 2006, 11:27 AM CDT

NEW ORLEANS -- Jazz pianist and composer Hilton Ruiz was in critical condition Wednesday, nearly a week after he was found on Bourbon Street with an unexplained skull fracture and broken bones in his face, according to his agent.

Ruiz, whose 54th birthday is next week, has been unconscious since he was found early Friday after leaving the Utopia bar, agent and manager Joel Chriss said from New York in a telephone interview.

Chriss said he was told that the initial police report said Ruiz had fallen, but added: "The doctors apparently said that's unlikely, given the nature of his injuries."

"One could easily draw the conclusion that he was attacked, though lawyers have asked us not to characterize it that way because we have no proof," Chriss said. "We have no suspect, no weapon."

Police spokesman Bob Young said Wednesday he had no information on Ruiz.

Keith Darcey, a spokesman for East Jefferson General Hospital, said Ruiz remained in critical condition Wednesday. Privacy rules kept the hospital from giving any details, he said.

Ruiz has performed on more than 500 recordings, including 30 as leader, according to his Web site. He was in New Orleans for radio and television interviews, Chriss said.

His wife issued the following statement on this incident:

Dear Friends of Hilton Ruiz, I share with you the sad news of Hilton Ruiz. While filming in New Orleans for his latest recording, a dedication to New Orleans, Hilton was assaulted after stepping out of a nightclub by a group of men of which he has socializing with shortly before the assault. Hilton was taken to emergency with multiple fractions to the face and suffered a cardiac arrest while in the ambulance.

He is currently in stable condition, in a Coma under life support equipment. All inquires can be made directly to his daughter Aidita Ruiz or Hilton¹s record producer Marco who can be reached at Marco@m27world.com

I feel it would be appropriate and appreciated for the historians of music to educate us on the wonderful musical career of Mr. Hilton Ruiz and adding Prayers and positive energy.

Thank you,

Family of late jazzman Hilton Ruiz sues dance club in New Orleans, says patrons beat him

NEW ORLEANS, Jun. 20, 2006
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press Writer

(AP) The family of the late jazz pianist and composer Hilton Ruiz has sued a Bourbon Street dance club, saying he was attacked and beaten there and the club's bouncers failed either to protect him or to help him afterward.

The club's manager denied the accusations, saying "We have no knowledge of that whatsoever."

Ruiz, 54, of Teaneck, N.J., died June 6, about 2 1/2 weeks after he fell in front of the Club Utopia, named as the defendant in the negligence lawsuit filed by his daughter, Aida Ruiz. He excelled in a wide variety of styles from Afro-Cuban rhythms to the blues, and had come to New Orleans to make a video to go with a benefit recording for Hurricane Katrina victims.

"We are very confident there are people out there who are aware of what happened to Mr. Ruiz in that club in the early hours of May 19," attorney Scott Galante said Monday. "We are urging people and pleading with people to come forward to my office or the New Orleans Police Department with their information."

After he had been in the Utopia for several hours, the lawsuit alleges, Ruiz was attacked by several people. The club's security workers "failed to intervene in any meaningful fashion," or to call an ambulance for Ruiz, but instead threw or escorted him out and "abandoned" him even though he was clearly unable to make his way to safety, the suit alleges.

Utopia manager Fred Woodruff said that, as far as he knows, that never happened. He also said that he had not heard about the lawsuit, which was filed last week in Civil District Court.

Woodruff said he has not reviewed the club's security tapes, and police have not asked to see them.

Galante said, "Obviously, it's something we're seeking," but wouldn't comment when asked whether he had asked the club for its tapes.

Ten days before Ruiz was hospitalized, an altercation involving five people inside the Utopia led to a murder just outside, police have said. In that case, a man argued with three women who refused to accept drinks from him, hitting one with a bottle and punching another, and then shot and killed the man who escorted the women outside to wait for an ambulance, police said.

Police have said they first investigated Ruiz's injuries as an attack, but witnesses and other evidence all indicated that Ruiz fell early May 19.

He never regained consciousness.

Police spokeswoman Bambi Hall said the department is cooperating with the family's lawyers, but stands by its investigators' original conclusion. "We can't speak to what Utopia did or did not do," she said.

Mary Howell, the first attorney retained by Ruiz's daughter and ex-wife, also named Aida, said while Ruiz was still alive that his family was convinced that Ruiz had accidentally tripped or fallen.