Hilton Ruiz (May 29, 1952 – June 6, 2006) was a Puerto Rican-American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban mold, but was also a talented bebop player. Ruiz began playing piano at the age of eight, and gigged with Freddie Hubbard and Joe Newman when he was young. Later, he was Roland Kirk's main pianist from 1974 to 1977, featuring on such records as The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. Ruiz also recorded several solo albums between the 1980s and 2000s.