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Tenor Saxophone
by Bob Bernotas
Invented in the early 1840s, the saxophone was a relative latecomer to music--and to jazz. But starting in the mid-1920s, with the rise of the big bands, the instrument slowly but steadily evolved from a vaudeville novelty into a staple in the mainstream of jazz. Of the different varieties of saxophone, the tenor and the alto have been the most widely used, the baritone and soprano somewhat less so. During the decade, Coleman Hawkins appeared as the first important tenor ...
Continue ReadingColeman Hawkins
by Henk de Boer
Although Adolphe Sax actually invented the saxophone, in the jazz world the title “Father of the Tenor Saxophone" became justly associated with Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969), not only an inventive jazz giant but also the founder of a whole dynasty of saxophone players. Before Hawkins, the saxophone (itself “born" in 1846) was mainly a favorite in marching bands and something of a novelty instrument in circus acts and vaudeville shows. Indeed, at age 16, Coleman started out with such a vaudeville ...
Continue ReadingLove for Sale and Other Essays
by Clifford Thompson
This article appears from the story “For Bean" Love for Sale and Other Essays by Clifford Thompson (Autumn House Press, 2013). I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s in a semi-detached brick house in Washington, D.C. The house from which it was not detached belonged to my aunt and uncle; my great-aunt and great-uncle lived in the house on the other side of them; and still another aunt and uncle were up the street. People ...
Continue ReadingColeman Hawkins: The High and Mighty Hawk
by Samuel Chell
Recorded in England in 1958, this little-known session, originally released on the obscure Felsted label, is an inarguable gem. Perhaps even the word “masterpiece" is not too much of a stretch. It's doubtful that the putative “father of the tenor saxophone," Coleman Hawkins, made a better recording in the age of long-playing records, and it's just as unlikely that a better example of the impeccable touch and melodic inventiveness of the prolific Hank Jones can be found on any other ...
Continue ReadingColeman Hawkins: In Europe - London, Paris & Brussels
by Angelo Leonardi
Coleman Hawkins In Europe--London, Paris & Brussels 2009 Questa nutrita raccolta di filmati di Coleman Hawkins ripresi negli anni sessanta, in parte inediti e d'ottima qualità, ci dà l'occasione per ricordare un genio che non va dimenticato e l'ultimo decennio della sua vita. Il DVD contiene quindici brani ripresi in quattro diversi concerti dati a Londra, probabilmente Hannover (molto improbabile Parigi, nonostante il titolo) e Brussels più il cortometraggio di ...
Continue ReadingIn Europe: London, Paris & Brussels
by George Kanzler
Coleman Hawkins In Europe: London, Paris & Brussels Impro Jazz 2008
In the '20s, Coleman Hawkins (1904-69) established the tenor sax as a prominent soloing option in jazz, creating the first template for the dominant sound of the instrument. The powerful tone, deep swagger and churning rococo harmonic attack of his approach continued to be an influence long after it was eclipsed by the smoother, thinner toned, more rubato style of Lester ...
Continue ReadingDuke Ellington: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
by Samuel Chell
This extraordinary 1962 session was the realization of a promise made thirty years earlier between the maestro, Duke Ellington, and the father of the tenor saxophone, Coleman Hawkins, that they would some day make a record together. Released a mere two months ahead of the largely iconic Ellington-Coltrane meeting, the earlier date is distinguished by the creative energies and commitment both men bring to the proceedings, with Ellington producing a scaled-down version of one of his best bands and Hawkins ...
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