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Lionel Hampton - Decca Sessions


bebopbob

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Has there been a complete Mosaic-like anthology of Lionel Hampton’s Decca/ Coral recordings issued on CD? I am enjoying the 2CD “Hamp” Legenadry Decca Recordings issued in 1996 but it looks like it is not a complete treatment of his Decca/Coral output. 

 

Thanks 

Bob

Edited by bebopbob
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Indeed there doesn't seem to be much on CD from that period, except that the CD set you allude to seems to have ben redone in 2002 ... (How far did they ever get with reissuing the Hampton recordings in the Chronological Classics CD series before tht series folded?)


I guess this recording period was covered that extensively in the LP era (notably on German MCA, and the 5 LPs on French MCA in the Jazz Heritage series also provide very good though not complete coverage) that reissuers have not found it profitable enough to re-reissue everything in the same manner again. It is amazing, though, after all these years that have passed since.

Or maybe the 40s Hamp still is considered too rambunctious for the "finer" tastes of the jazz sophisticates? :D

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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I would buy a Mosaic box of the complete Hampton Decca sides in a minute. Ihave that two CD compilation, and it shows the music is much better than one might think and not just "commercial". Besides that, it includes so many R & B godmothers that are of historical significance. I have three LPs on Affinity, too. But a complete set is still to be made ...

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Edited by mikeweil
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2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

I would buy a Mosaic box of the complete Hampton Decca sides in a minute. Ihave that two CD compilation, and it shows the music is much better than one might think and not just "commercial". Besides that, it includes so many R & B godmothers that are of historical significance.

 

It's not just the "godmothers". Sonny Parker was no slouch among the blues shouters either, for example (of course his early death contributed to him being a forgotten figure). And at any rate the Hampton band ALWAYS was much more than just a background for some "chirp". I know you meant differently but please don't get others started on the "commercial" tag. He had been blamed for that often enough elsewhere and before. Unfairly and unjustified IMO. Everyone still fronting a big band at that time was out to make money (so "commercial" is a silly ltag, even in hindsight) and he manged to do so with GUTS. And becoming not only an elder statesman of swing (including mainstream jazz that evolved from it) but also a forefather (or "godfather" if you want) not only of R&B but also of rock'n'roll (the REAL and original 50s variety, not what sailed under that flag later), managing to straddle this fence safely and capture his share of the audience among all these target audiences, was no mean feat IMO. Even if only to prove that viable and valuable facets of jazz remained exuberant and suitable for dancing.

BTW, did you never grab that 10-LP series done by German MCA in the 70s?

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I'm with on all points! Just couldn't think of a better word ... But perhaps Cuscuna thought in such terms when he never considered the Hampton Decca sides. 

No I haven't any of those MCA LPs - I wasn't into Hamp at the time.  At 12 tracks per LP they would easily fit on 4 CDs,

Edited by mikeweil
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7 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Indeed there doesn't seem to be much on CD from that period, except that the CD set you allude to seems to have ben redone in 2002 ... (How far did they ever get with reissuing the Hampton recordings in the Chronological Classics CD series before tht series folded?)

Last Ch. Classics CD from the Lionel Hampton series was CC 1429 which covered 1951 thru 1953. The label folded shortly after that one.?

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5 hours ago, brownie said:

Last Ch. Classics CD from the Lionel Hampton series was CC 1429 which covered 1951 thru 1953. The label folded shortly after that one.?

So Classics ought to have covered the Decca years ... Too bad the leftovers or secondhand copies now fetch such outragous prices.

5 hours ago, mikeweil said:

I'm with on all points! Just couldn't think of a better word ... But perhaps Cuscuna thought in such terms when he never considered the Hampton Decca sides. 

No I haven't any of those MCA LPs - I wasn't into Hamp at the time.  At 12 tracks per LP they would easily fit on 4 CDs,

Only the first ones ... the later Vols. all had 15 to 16 tracks per LP. ;)

The collator who compiled those LPs at the time for MCA once told me that the total number of tracks included (12, 14 or 16) was a matter of the German MCA branch's pricing policy. More tracks - higher price bracket. Though I did not notice this at the time in the shops. The MCA reissues usually were priced quite evenly, regardless of the number of tracks.

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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On 1/10/2018 at 3:00 AM, mikeweil said:

I would buy a Mosaic box of the complete Hampton Decca sides in a minute.

Might take a few minutes longer than a minute, but yes, definitely.

I find the Crhonologicoal Classics series a delight, yet horribly inconvenient, especially now that they're all OOP.

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18 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

 I think perhaps there was a complete collection on LP issued ?

Like I said - his entire Decca recordings (including the 1945 Carnegie Hall concert) WERE reissued on 10 LPs on German MCA in the 70s. Never heard of a European CD reissue, though.

I hadn't realized later reissues of this stuff were that patchy.
Too bad ... Two months ago I could have picked up most of the LPs from that series for a song - but didn't as I have 9 of the 10 LPs myself (and the contents of the one missing are all on the 5 LPs from French MCA reissued a bit later that I also have). I tended to pick up interesting LPs (that I WISHED I could have found at that price when I bought mine years ago) here and there and tried to pass them on to potentially interested collectors but have become a bit wary of this as no matter how good a deal you try to make those who ought to know an opportunity all too often prefer to be picky-picky along the "not now" and "oh well you know ..." lines. Their loss ...

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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