It took me a long to time to find Coleman Hawkins but only a moment to realize that he was the master.
Here is Coleman late in his career, hip as ever, careening through a sweet, boozy blues.
The backing group is George Arvanitas on piano, Mickey Baker on guitar, Jimmy Woods on bass, and Kansas Fields on drums. Recorded in Paris, mid-60’s.
Tomorrow would’ve been Hawk’s 105th birthday. WKCR will be hosting their annual birthday bash marathon. It was there, only last year, that I was introduced to the majesty of Coleman Hawkin’s authoritative playing. I have been devouring his music ever since.
The backing group is Tommy Flanagan on piano, Major Holley on bass, and Eddie Locke on drums. Recorded for Prestige Records, 1962.
If you started with Coltrane and never went backwards to Hawkins, take a moment to cross that bridge. There’s that Monk recording they did together, Monk’s Music, which has Trane blazing away while Bean keeps an understated cool before utterly and emphatically making “Ruby, My Dear” his own. That ballad had my jaw on the floor.
Speaking of amazing Hawk ballads…
The backing group is Thad Jones on trumpet, Eddie Costa on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums. Recorded for Crown Records, 1960.
WNYC will be broadcasting a near month long documentary program on The Jazz Loft starting today (11/16/09) and running through until December. The documentary will centerpiece around Hall Overton and Thelonious Monk’s scoring and rehearsing for Monk’s triumphant Town Hall concert, whose 50th anniversary was earlier this year. As well as other recordings made by W. Eugene Smith, the photographer who owned and worked out of the loft. Segments of the documentary will be broadcast nationally on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
I had no idea this was a national holiday but it is… Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, invented the saxophone in 1841. He may have invented it but Coleman Hawkins birthed it as a modern instrument. Here is a look at a few my all-time favorite sax players to celebrate this idiosyncratic holiday.
Clifford Brown (trumpet), Lou Donaldson (alto sax), Horace Silver (piano), Curly Russell (bass), Art Blakey (drums) / recorded 1954 for Blue Note Records
Clifford Brown born Oct 30th; Lou Donaldson born Nov 1st.
