Jazz Articles about Lionel Hampton

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Norman Granz: The Sound Of America

by Richard J Salvucci
October 26, 2026

If there were a more important “back office" figure in the history of American jazz than Norman Granz, who would it be? When Granz first heard Coleman Hawkins, he knew that the music was going to have a major role in his life--but he did not yet know how many others would be in his debt as well. Hundreds, if not thousands of musicians would owe him a living. Some, like Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, would nearly become his ...

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The Cosmic Sheath: Tragic Musical Phenomenon

by Troy Hoffman
January 28, 2025

Music is a messaging system used to speak directly to the Gods, but this communication can often go awry. The effects are often magical and of a natural order, but not always pleasant. Music is a cosmic system and preoccupation with it can “wear a hole in the cosmic sheath and allow a direct intuitional awareness of inner realities to take place," divulged the late author, Gareth Knight. Some of these realms may be of an opulent nature, but music's ...

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Lionel Hampton, Michel Camilo, Marta Sanchez and more

by David Brown
April 30, 2024

Tonight, a pair of tunes from Philly's Brecker Bros.; a Latin jazz set with Michel Camilo, Rachel Therrin, Juan Tizol, Tito Puente and more; all followed by works form James Brandon Lewis' three most recent releases. We'll continue with a birthday set for Lionel Hampton and more. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. Playlist ...

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Lionel Hampton Centennial

by Laurel Gross
December 12, 2009

Lionel HamptonCentennial CelebrationPablo/Telarc - Concord2009 Lionel Hampton Big BandThe European Concerts, 1953-1954Fremeaux & Associes2009 Lionel HamptonMostly BluesNimbus Records2009

Straight out of the gate, the first three tracks of Centennial Celebration show why Art Tatum is still the greatest and why the artful, entertaining and impressive ...

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Live in '58

by Ken Dryden
November 15, 2008

Lionel Hampton Jazz Icons: Live in '58 Naxos Jazz 2008

Lionel Hampton was one of the incomparable showmen in jazz, especially when leading an always-swinging big band. This 1958 concert, filmed by Belgium public television at the Royal Theatre Opera House, finds him in peak form.Many of the expected hits are missing, so this 58-minute performance likely represents only a small portion of the program, as Hampton regularly played two ...

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Jazz Icons Series 3: Lionel Hampton Live in '58

by C. Michael Bailey
October 23, 2008

Lionel Hampton Jazz Icons Series 3: Lionel Hampton Live in '58 Jazz Icons 2008Jazz ambassadors are hard to come by. The first was Louis Armstrong, whose personality was so big and warm it couldn't help spilling out on everyone close to him. Then there was Dizzy Gillespie, the uber- virtuoso whose grasp of vaudeville and the ideal of the total entertainer made him the logical heir to Armstrong. But chronologically between these ...

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Lionel Hampton: There Will Never Be Another You

by Jim Santella
October 12, 2006

Recorded in 1989 and featuring vocalist Sylvia Bennett, this studio performance captures Lionel Hampton in action with a big band, tearin' up those swingin' vibes. Hampton's 1989 band arrangements are outstanding. They pull everyone together, lifting each section up to its assigned role in support of the vibraphonist's featured spot. He carries each selection with vigor. Reeds and brass pack plenty of power, while the rhythm section swings. The use of electric bass and congas lend a contemporary charm to ...