With Hawk's birthday coming up this weekend, I thought I might post and handful of his lps I have laying about. Hawk may have been the first of the jazz artists outside of the "bop" pantheon that I truly came to appreciate. Not the first I heard, or enjoyed, that was probably Artie Shaw, but the first that I really learned to dig into and find out what he was all about. I still list Bean among my favorites.
The first batch of songs was released as one of the lps on this Prestige two-fer. They are a bunch of 78's from the 40's. The first four sides signal the coming of the "new music" and include what has come to be accepted as the first modern showings of bop, with venerable sideman, Thelonious Monk. Track 4, Drifting On A Reed, still invariably makes its way onto compilations i make for people who "just don't get jazz" and decide to sample it.
i don't know where else these songs have been reissued and it is with great pleasure that I keep them alive here.
This second batch is from a Trip records reissue titled "Coleman Hawkins with The Trumpet Kings - 1945". Do not be fooled into thinking this is Bean with some sort of super group but rather another collection of various sides that just so happen to showcase trumpters as well as Hawk. More firmly rooted in the swing era, as evidenced by the songs covered, these tracks are still full of crackling energy and it is fun to hear Hawk with these"old timers". Even though he came up among them, it was his forward facing nature that keeps me from thinking he was actually "one of them." The sides with Roy Eldridge are particularly good.
Once again as this is basically a compilation, there is no way I am going to list all the personnel. And on a funnier note, I can't even seem to locate my trip lp, even though I ripped it only a couple of weeks ago. All information should be easily located through the glory of the internet. If necessary, contact me and I will see about supplying the info if necessary.
While listed as two separate lps - both fit handily on one disc. As usual taken from my vinyl rips.
Coleman Hawkins - The 40's 78s
1. On The Bean
2. Recollection
3. Flyin' Hawk
4. Driftin' On A Reed
5. I Mean You
6. Bean and the Boys
7. Cocktails For Two
8. You Go To My Head
9. Sih-Sah
10. Bay-U-Bah
11. Sophisticated lady
12. Bean's Talking Again
Milestone M-47015-1Coleman Hawkins and the Trumpet Kings
1. I Only Have Eyes For You
2. 's Wonderful
3. I'm In The Mood For Love
4. Bean At The Met
5. Thru For The Night
6. I'm Yours
7. Under a Blanket of Blue
8. Beyond The Blue Horizon
9. In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
10. My Man
11. El Salon de Gutbucket
12. Embraceable You
Trip 5515Courtesy of our friend Otis - the personnel for the Trumpet Kings lp is now listed in the comments section.
This is an NPR broadcast that I captured on what would have been Monk's 80th birthday. The broadcast is hosted by Nancy Wilson and while it contains no surprises, it is still a bit of fun listening.
