He is playing this week in NYC. I have nothing of his as a leader. Any recommendations what to pick up first?

If you have to have only one Slide Hamption, get the 'Silver Salvation' album that came out on Atlantic. It's been reissued on Collectables.
Beautiful album with solos by Freddie Hubbard and George Coleman among others.

Thanks, that will be the one I'll start with.

Except that its "Sister Salvation"

Yes, I noticed it was "Sister Salvation".

You might be able to find a cheap copy of "Exodus", an album that was part of the recent Jazz in Paris series. Great sidemen, there, too, such as couw's favourite trumpet player Richard Williams, Sangrey's favourite tenor man George Coleman (you know, that's that Alexander-clone guy... )
A fun disc, for sure!

ubu

Two very good recommendations there! Sister Salvation was (along with Charles Bell's and Leo Wright's first Atlantic lps) among my first three jazz lps I ever owned and I still get chills when I hear the Hampton lp!

Slide's one in the "Americans in Paris" (EMI France) set is excellent- I forget its title but it's raw and powerful.

A Slide Hampton session I've enjoyed over the years is World of Trombones (now on a Black Lion CD). It's Slide Hampton leading a nine trombone choir accompanied by a rhythm section. Perhaps not typical Slide Hampton, but it's a good listen.
If you read the Penguin Guide to Jazz, you'll see it only merits a so-so rating. My ears tell me otherwise, and I always trust my ears over their words.

Ultimately all of the octet recordings are worth getting.
He's also involved in a major way in the latest VJO CD.

Oooh, haven't heard that one. Sounds like I should!

I'm lukewarm on "Sister Salvation," but the "Exodus" title is very good. My favorite - and a good deal - is the "Collectables" "two-fer" of "Jazz With a Twist" and "Explosion" - similar set-up to "Salvation"' but (to my ears) livelier.

More on the Americans Swinging in Paris releases here.
I don't own any so far, but I've had an earful of the Hampton at a store once, and I did like what I heard!


Slide Hampton - tb
Joachim Kühn - p
Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen - b
Philly Joe Jones - d

Can't link directly to the album, as it's one of those stupid flash sites.

Here's the Exodus cover:



ubu

If you want to sample his writing and arranging skills for BIG BOLD BAND, pick up almost any Maynard Ferguson Roulette. Man. . . !

Brownie:

Perhaps you thought/wrote "silver Salvation" under the influence of Williams Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech? (I think it was recorded in a recreation by Bryon years later.)

None of the octet recordings will disappoint but for my money it has to be "Exodus" by a nose followed by "Sister Salvation".

Fresh Sound have a two lps on one cd of rarer items by the octet but on my copy the music has been transferred from lp and it shows.

The sound on the "Americans Swinging In Paris" cd has a dreadful accoustic spoiling what could have been an interesting date.

There are very few of Slide's recording I don't dig.

As far as the American Swinging in Paris series go, when's the next batch coming out???

My website has a complete discography of Slide. URL below.

I love the Octet - my favorite could well be the Two Sides of Slide album on Charlie Parker, now on 2-fer CD with the Strand album Horn of Plenty.

That Mellow-dy cheapie CD is quite good - at $5 or so, I've picked up several and passed them on to friends.

Mike

How did that quartet with Joachim Kuhn come out originally, anyway?

I've got a nice big band date on Supraphon featuring Jiri Stivin, John Surman, Barre Phillips and Stu Martin among others, but the small-group stuff is a little more attractive to me. These rec's should be helpful...

Originally on Pathe LP 10156 - see my discography.

Mike

no one's mentioned this gem yet, with clifford jordan, cedar walton, david williams, and billy higgins.

or the Curtis Fuller 'Two Bones' BN album where Slide Hampton confronts his skills with Fuller. The rhythm section was Sonny Clark, George Tucker, Charles Persip.
This has not been reissued since its original release in Japan in 1980. That LP listed Al Harewood instead of Persip as the drummer.
The session was included in the Fuller Mosaic but it could stand a fresher reissue.

I'm bringing this thread up because I wanted to start a thread on Slide's arranging skills, but thought I'd extend this one.

I put on Junior Cook's "Good Cookin'" (now part of 32 Jazz's "Senior Cookin'"). Without checking the liner notes, I could immediately tell Slide's arranging - he has a distinctive sound, one that I really dig. Tight, solid arrangements of the head, but leaving lots of room for blowing. And, refreshingly, he doesn't call attention to himself.

Another date in this league is Dexter's "A Day in Copenhagen." Does anyone else have favorites of Slide's arranging?

Some of the very best writing is for the Slide Hampton Octet, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Amazingly, all of their albums but one have made it to CD. The basic concept of the group was 2 trumpets, 2 saxophones, 2 trombones, 2 rhythm. Slide could make this sound like a big band and there was always plenty of solo space because it really *wasn't* a big band. The Fresh Sound CD that combines "Horn Of Plenty" and "Two Sides Of Slide" is magnificent.

Of course, at the same time, Slide was working with Maynard Ferguson, whose band was a bit bigger (but still not a full big band): 4 trumpets, 4 saxophones, 2 trombones, 3 rhythm. Some of the same pieces were in the books of both.

Mike

BTW, the Octet sometimes wasn't an Octet, strictly speaking. Added trumpet, tuba, piano, percussion, etc.

Roots is one of my Slide favorites.... it also happens to be one of Slide's. He told me so in Chicago when I saw him in May.

my favorite slide playing/writing is on "A Day In Copenhagen", of course you get the added bonus of having my favorite ts player Dexter Gordon.........mrjazzman

Here's a photograph of Slide playing at the Indy Jazz Festival (Tribute to Jobim) yesterday!