As a long time Hawkins fanatic, I agree that "The Hawk In Paris" is his best strings album, on which he really plays, and that the "Gilded Hawk" and "The Hawk and the Hunter" are rather light by comparison. However, the juxtaposition of Hawk's big sound against the strings is very pleasing to these ears, and he does some nice tunes on "Gilded".
Btw, here's the original cover to "The Hawk & the Hunter":