The group was co-founded in 1992 by pianist Frank Kimbrough and double bassist Ben Allison, both members of the Jazz Composers Collective.
[1][2] However, the origins of the project dated back to 1985, when Kimbrough began to research and transcribe Nichols' piano trio recordings.
[4][5] Critic and author Ben Ratliff described the HNP as "a jazz repertory band that's done great work digging up the least-known, most fragmentary compositions of the pianist Herbie Nichols and turned them into music that does him proud.
B. Spellman commented: "Herbie would have been pleased, for he never heard the harmonic possibilities that he so carefully built into his pieces exploited by a band.
"[7] The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called the group "a vivid, inventive tribute band... which goes way beyond the vague, wannabe gestures of less thoughtful projects.