Coleman Hawkins

The opportunity to see the “Father” of the tenor sax, Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969), on video is a rare one. During Hawkins’ prime – in the 30s to 50s – there is very little video archived of viewable quality, so it is a special treat to have 140 minutes of the master playing at the end of his career. Hawkins had begun to deteriorate rapidly at the end of his career beginning in 1967, when he largely stopped eating and began to drink even more heavily. He was a wisp of his formerly robust stature in 1969 when he passed away. The jazz world had changed, as free jazz had begun to creep onto the jazz scene, and although Hawkins had survived and even mastered the bop idiom of the late 40s and early 50s, he had a hard time accepting some of the directions that jazz was heading.

Tenor great Coleman Hawkins was usually bored with the blues, at least until the period covered by this CD sampler. A master at deciphering complex chord changes, Hawkins found the blues to be overly simple but around 1957 (after 35 years of major league activity) he began to explore the blues more seriously, at least on an occasional basis. This CD has nine performances from as many sessions. The music is consistently excellent (particularly "Juicy Fruit," the lengthy "Blues For Tomorrow" which also features John Coltrane, "Stealin' The Bean" with trumpeter Charlie Shavers and a pair of collaborations with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis), but it is recommended that listeners (beginners and experts alike) instead acquire the complete sessions, since the blues were only a small aspect of the Coleman Hawkins story.

Coleman Hawkins - Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At The Village Gate! (1962) {Verve 513 755-2 rel 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 450 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962, 1992 Verve / PolyGram | 513 755-2
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Hard Bop / Swing / Saxophone / Trumpet

From the mid-'50s until Coleman Hawkins's death in 1969, the tenor-saxophonist frequently teamed up with trumpeter Roy Eldridge to form a potent team. However, Hawkins rarely met altoist Johnny Hodges on the bandstand, making this encounter a special event. Long versions of "Satin Doll," "Perdido" and "The Rabbit in Jazz" give these three classic jazzmen (who are ably assisted by the Tommy Flanagan Trio) chances to stretch out and inspire each other. The remainder of this CD has Eldridge and Hodges absent while Coleman Hawkins (on "new" versions of "Mack the Knife," "It's the Talk of the Town," "Bean and the Boys" and "Caravan") heads the quartet for some excellent playing. Timeless music played by some of the top veteran stylists of the swing era.

Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins - Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (1962) {2007 Verve Originals}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb
© 2007 Verve / UMG | 0602517448094
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Piano / Saxophone

Surprisingly, this Impulse album is the only recorded meeting between these two swing giants. Born just five years apart, Ellington and Hawkins led parallel lives through the swing era, but somehow never ended up in a recording studio together until this 1962 session. The pairing is certainly a good one that should have been repeated more often. Hawkins' famously robust tenor sax fits in seamlessly with Ellington and a small group of his top sidemen including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, and Ray Nance. These old pros work smoothly through a relaxed set of new and old Ellington compositions.

Coleman Hawkins was the first breakthrough tenor sax soloist and he remains one of the greatest ever. For over 40 years, he held court - blowing away the competition with his creative improvisations and rock solid grasp of harmony. Originally released on Verve in 1958, Coleman Hawkins and His Confreres features two tracks with the ever-swinging Oscar Peterson Trio and leads by tenor Ben Webster and trumpeter Roy Eldridge. A true meeting of friends, this relaxed but undeniably virtuosic album is a musical snapshot of a crack group of jazz giants at the height of their powers. The chill atmosphere is particularly noticeable in the title "Sunday" in which Eldridge comes into the limelight with a brilliant solo.

Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster first met at a Kansas City jam session at which Hawkins finally encountered his match in local tenors Webster, Herschel Evans, and Lester Young. The all-night meeting has become the stuff of legend (and a continuous thread in Robert Altman's film Kansas City, though there it's reduced to two tenors). Recorded by Norman Granz, this 1957 meeting supports the two with fine accompaniment that includes Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Herb Ellis. The material includes the great "Blues for Yolanda," with a honking, squeaking solo that suggests Hawkins is the father of all R&B tenor saxophonists as well as those in jazz, while "Rosalita" has an engaging Latin beat…

Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins were both involved in unusual collaborations in the early 1960s, often with much younger musicians: Ellington with Max Roach and Charles Mingus (Money Jungle) and with John Coltrane; Hawkins with Roach and Sonny Rollins. As surprising as any of those inter-generational sessions, however, is this 1962 meeting between Ellington and Hawkins, if only because it hadn't happened before. ~ Amazon