Jazz Articles about Lionel Hampton

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Lionel Hampton: There Will Never Be Another You Featuring Sylvia Bennett

by Michael P. Gladstone
September 15, 2006

How many living female singers can say that they sang with the Lionel Hampton Big Band? Sylvia Bennett auditioned for Hampton in the early 1980s and was immediately signed as the band's singer. She then toured Florida and performed with the Hampton Orchestra at the second Reagan inaugural as well as the same event for George Bush. Hampton recorded Sentimental Journey in 1985 with Bennett as vocalist, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1987. A second album, There ...

Lionel Hampton: There Will Never Be Another You

by Jack Bowers
July 30, 2006

Legendary vibraphonist Lionel Hampton auditioned Italian-born vocalist Sylvia Bennett in the early '80s, hired her on the spot to sing with his band, and subsequently recorded two albums with her. The first, Sentimental Journey, received a Grammy Award nomination, but the second, recorded in 1989 when Hamp was a frisky eighty years old, sat neglected for reasons unknown ever since and is only now being heard for the first time. And it's high time, too.

To state the case as ...

Lionel Hampton: Jazz Legend

by Jim Santella
January 27, 2006

Lionel Hampton Lionel Hampton: Jazz Legend King of the Vibes Hudson Music 2006

Unlike some musical biographies, this one places the music above the commentary. Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and drummer Steve Smith share a narration that discusses the career of Lionel Hampton, and they allow plenty of room for the music to tell its side of the story. Hampton is seen here in many film clips all over the world, ...