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Coleman Hawkins: The Centennial Collection

By Joel Roberts
October 2, 2004
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Coleman Hawkins: The Centennial Collection

Though it won't get the attention of the recent Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong centennials, the 100th anniversary of Coleman Hawkins' birth, coming up on November 21, certainly warrants celebration from jazz fans. Dubbed the "father of the tenor saxophone," Hawkins was a vital force on the jazz scene for five decades, moving through the swing era to bebop and beyond.

Bluebird's "Centennial Collection" begins and ends, appropriately enough, with two renditions of the tune Hawkins is most associated with, the lush ballad "Body and Soul," (the classic 1939 version and a 1956 recording with a 24-piece orchestra). In between, the CD packs in 18 more tracks recorded between 1929 and 1963, featuring ample illustrations of Hawkins' powerful, yet always relaxed sound and that rich, luxuriant tone. What's most remarkable about the collection is the sheer variety of settings Hawkins performs—and excels—in, from early swing sides with McKinney's Cotton Pickers and big band efforts with Fletcher Henderson and Lionel Hampton, to bebop outings with Fats Navarro and J.J. Johnson, and even a memorable 1963 pairing with his supreme disciple, Sonny Rollins.

While it's outstanding as an overview of Hawkins' career—and as a brief tour of most of the major jazz movements of the first two-thirds of the last century—what really puts this set over the top is an accompanying DVD that features rare video of Hawkins jamming with fellow tenor titan Lester Young and others. Essential.

Track Listing

1 Body and Soul 2 Wherever There's a Will, Baby 3 If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight 4 Hello Lola 5 Hocus Pocus 6 One Sweet Letter From You 7 Dinah 8 Bouncing With Bean 9 Say It Isn't So 10 Half Step Down, Please 11 Angel Face 12 I Love You 13 The Bean Stalks Again 14 There'll Never Be Another You 15 His Very Own Blues 16 April in Paris 17 I Love Paris 18 Love Me or Leave Me 19 Just Friends 20 Body and Soul 21 Indian Summer 22 Avalon 23 Jumpin' With Symphony Sid 24 Wild Man Blues Hawkins ... 25 Lover Man [#]

Personnel

Bernard Addison: Guitar; Manny Albam: Arranger; Henry "Red" Allen: Trumpet; Buster Bailey: Clarinet; Everett Barksdale: Guitar; Raymond Beckenstein: Flute; Artie Bernstein: Bass; Chu Berry: Saxophone; Jack Bland: Guitar; Paul Bley: Piano; James H. Brown: Alto Sax; Max Cahn: Violin; Benny Carter: Clarinet, Trumpet, Saxophone, Alto Sax; Charlie Christian: Guitar; Al Cohn: Tenor Sax; Cozy Cole: Drums; Eddie Condon: Banjo; Leonard Davis: Trumpet; Stanley DeParis: Trumpet; Marion Deveta: Baritone Sax; Allen Eager: Tenor Sax; Vic Engle: Drums; Al Epstein: Saxophone; Jackie Fields: Saxophone; Arnold Fishkin: Bass; Pops Foster: Bass; Barry Galbraith: Guitar; Paul Gershman: Violin; Dizzy Gillespie: Trumpet; Bernie Glow: Trumpet; Freddie Green: Guitar; Urbie Green: Trombone; Henry Grimes: Bass; Joe Guy: Trumpet; Edmond Hall: Clarinet; Lionel Hampton: Vocals, Vibraphone; Earl Hardy: Trombone; Clyde Hart: Piano; Coleman Hawkins: Saxophone, Tenor Sax; Fletcher Henderson: Piano, Arranger; Arthur Herbert: Drums; J.C. Higginbotham: Trombone; Milt Hinton: Bass; Hilton Jefferson: Clarinet, Alto Sax; Budd Johnson: Alto Sax; J.J. Johnson: Trombone; Keg Johnson: Trombone; Osie Johnson: Drums; Walter Johnson Jr.: Drums; Claude Jones: Trombone; Hank Jones: Piano, Celeste; Jimmy Jones: Piano; John Kirby: Bass; Leo Kruczek: Violin; Gene Krupa: Drums; Lester Lee: Saxophone; Jack Lesberg: Bass; Tommy Lindsay: Trumpet; Lawrence Lucie: Guitar; Shelly Manne: Drums; Sam Marowitz: Alto Sax; Kaiser Marshall: Drums; Theodore McCord: Clarinet; Roy McCurdy: Drums; Red McKenzie: Comb; Hal McKusick: Sax (Alto); Glenn McGaha Miller: Trombone; Eustis Moore: Saxophone; Marty Napoleon: Piano; Fats Navarro: Trumpet; Fred Ohms: Trombone; Lou Oles: Trumpet; Mary Osborne: Guitar; Romeo Penque: Flute; Danny Polo: Clarinet; Russell Procope: Clarinet, Alto Sax; Janet Putnam: Harp; Don Redman: Clarinet, Alto Sax, Baritone Sax, Vocals; George Ricci: Cello; Max Roach: Drums; Gene Rodgers: Piano; Sonny Rollins: Tenor Sax; Ernie Royal: Trumpet; Alvin Rudintsky: Violin; Pee Wee Russell: Clarinet; Tosha Samaroff: Violin; Jack Satterfield: Trombone; Sol Schlinger: Baritone Sax; Lucien Schmit: Cello; Charlie Shavers: Trumpet; Zoot Sims: Tenor Sax; Zutty Singleton: Drums; Joe "Fox" Smith: Trumpet; Russell Smith: Trumpet; William McLeish Smith: Bass; Joe Sullivan: Piano; Billy Taylor: Tuba; Joe Thomas: Trumpet; Nick Travis: Trumpet; Lloyd Trotman: Bass; Fats Waller: Piano; Chuck Wayne: Guitar; Ben Webster: Saxophone; Chauncey Welsch: Trombone; Marty Wilson: Vibraphone.