Coleman Hawkins The Hawk Flies High

Coleman Hawkins' 1957 session for Riverside, aside from an oral documentary record in a short-lived series, was his only recording for the label under his name. Yet producer Orrin Keepnews had the good sense to invite the legendary tenor saxophonist to pick his own musicians, and Hawkins surprised him by asking for young boppers J.J. Johnson and Idrees Sulieman in addition to the potent rhythm section of Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Barry Galbraith, and Jo Jones. The two days of sessions produced a number of strong performances, with Hawkins still very much at the top of his game, while both Johnson and Sulieman catch fire as well. Even though most of the focus was on new material contributed by the participants, the musicians quickly adapted to the unfamiliar music…

Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk Flies High (1957) {2008 Riverside} [Keepnews Collection Complete Series] (Item #19of27)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 145 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 251 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remastering
© 1957, 2008 Riverside / Concord | 0888072305052
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

Orrin's commentary (from his new liner notes): "Before [Coleman] Hawkins, the tenor saxophone-which has come to be one of the basic instruments of jazz-simply did not exist, a fact that would be disputed by neither Lester Young nor Ben Webster-his most prominent immediate successors-nor by Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane or anyone you might choose to put near the head of the line thereafter…This was not my only studio experience with Hawkins, although it was the only opportunity to deal with him strictly on his own terms, which is certainly the only appropriate way to approach a great artist."

Tenor saxophonist Coleman "The Hawk" Hawkins (1904- 1969) was one of the most important instrumental soloists in jazz. The "father of the saxophone" conquered this previously unpopular instrument for jazz and influenced generations after him. He also possessed a strong personality, enormous presence and a pronounced musical adventurousness, so that he always remained stylistically on the cutting edge until the sixties…