Jump to content

Coleman Hawkins: "A Documentary" (Riverside)


Recommended Posts

WOW youll never believe what i found (for 10 bucks)- i never knew this existed......this 2-lp riverside set, its coleman hawkins talking about back in the day and fletcher henderson and all kinds of important stuff, it says liner notes by orrin keepnews- he was the producer though, was he just slapping his name on it or did someone else do all the actual musical content work for the album and keepknews just took the credit, i dont know- but antyways i cant wait to listen to this one, its bean telling it how it is- i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW youll never believe what i found (for 10 bucks)- i never knew this existed......this 2-lp riverside set, its coleman hawkins talking about back in the day and fletcher henderson and all kinds of important stuff, it says liner notes by orrin keepnews- he was the producer though, was he just slapping his name on it or did someone else do all the actual musical content work for the album and keepknews just took the credit, i dont know- but antyways i cant wait to listen to this one, its bean telling it how it is- i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

I found this 2 LP set back in the early '70s, interestingly with a white label disc one and a blue label disc two. Haven't listened to it in years so I can't tell you exactly what you can anticipate, but reading your post with its overflowing enthusiasm makes me want to give it a re-listen. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

It's all talks but you'll enjoy it.

You really were lucky with that one. Searched for it for years and never found a decent copy. A good man from the Organissimo forums early days - he has not posted here in a very long time - burned a copy for me.

Bill Grauer and Paul Bacon did the interviews. Hawkins was in good spirits and he tells some very interesting stories...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also have a copy of this 2 disc set, thanks to our own Stereo Jack who gave it to me for a birthday present. A very long time ago. I've burned it onto CD and listen to it every now and then.

Hawk insists that he was not born in St. Louis but on an ocean liner, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while his parents were coming back from a European trip??? Has that ever been verified?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Chewy, for reminding me. I have now dusted off my album and will be listening to it today. Fortunately, although the cover reveals my 50 years of having this set, the discs are pristine—having access to the real thing :), I think I played it twice, at most.

Beandoc.jpg

Great find, Chewy, and thanks so much for posting an image of the cover, Chris.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chewy: Nice find. Never have come across a copy.

Steve: No to the born on the ocean liner question. Here's some information from John Chilton's "Song of the Hawk."

>>>

Late in life Hawkins became mysterious about his place of birth, and touchy about giving the date on which he was born. In 1956 he said he was born at sea, while his mother and father were returning from Europe: "On the Atlantic Ocean, on a boat. To me it's hard to say actually where my real birth would be." The truth was not quite as romantic. Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born on 21 November 1904 at 1713 Angelique in the Buchanan District of Saint Joseph, Missouri; he was delivered by Dr Preston Edwards. Coleman's parents, William and Cordelia, lived at 1713 Angelique with Cordelia's parents..."

>>>

I also have a copy of this 2 disc set, thanks to our own Stereo Jack who gave it to me for a birthday present. A very long time ago. I've burned it onto CD and listen to it every now and then.

Hawk insists that he was not born in St. Louis but on an ocean liner, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while his parents were coming back from a European trip??? Has that ever been verified?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

actually, I may be confusing it with another Riverside narrative double album - I have one of Henry Miller somewhere on my shelves.

as an aside, there is precious little interview material with Hawk - though there's a nice Q and A in one of those old collections like JazzMen (it's probably not that one, but similar); also the Chilton bio is excellent.

Edited by AllenLowe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

PD was also the person who provided me with a copy of this. So three of us owe him our thanks.

Incidentally, Riverside also issued as single LP, Satchmo and Me: Lil Armstrong's Own Story - A Jazz Doumentary. Have an LP copy of that one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

forgot about that - I think I have the Lil Armstrong - the Henry Miller I have is very scratched - and I never saw that Eric Bentley before.

Reissue time. Anybody for a bootleg series? How about we call it:

"Keep Away from Keepnews."

(or Grousing with Grauer?)

Chuck, you feel like moving to Andorra?

Edited by AllenLowe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

P.D. gave away so many copies Christiern could ask for royalties ... really lived up to his board name.

Would be a nice Mosaic box set, all those interviews - Hawk, Henry Miller, Brecht - who else was in that series? I mean, it would be a helluva fascinating box set!

Edited by mikeweil
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there needs to be a Riverside sampler with Hawk interviews, Bertolt Brecht, and race-car/train sounds interspersed. It would be rad!

Prestige also issued some interesting non-jazz albums, ranging from Burgess Meredith reading Ray Bradbury stories to a Hermione Baddeley comedy album and Billy Dee Williams singing cabaret songs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

PD was also the person who provided me with a copy of this. So three of us owe him our thanks.

Incidentally, Riverside also issued as single LP, Satchmo and Me: Lil Armstrong's Own Story - A Jazz Doumentary. Have an LP copy of that one.

I'm in the same boat. Bean copy from P.D., Lil L.P. original purchased during my collecting years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Postif?

François Postif, indeed!

François and I cowrote a series of articles in the late '50s.

I was even supposed to be along when he interviewed Lester Young at the Hotel d'Angleterre on the Rue de la Boétie (off the Champs-Elysées avenue) but could not make it because I had to complete work on some damn highschool studies :mellow:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...