Lionel Hampton

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Having about 20 of these tracks, I really want more!

So much music; so little money

MG

[brownie]

What about the big band? Nothing currently around?

The Decca big band material was reissued by Classics. Most of them are OOP by now and I don't think they were part of the Classics program of recycling them.

Big Beat Steve, for your information the vast majority of the Classics were taken from original 78s or LPs made available by a small net of record collectors.

[neveronfriday]

I'm a big fan of LH although it's a pain in the neck to piece all of his output together if you don't have a major discography lying around, which I don't. But that's what the Big O. is for, ain't it.

A quick in and out of this thread as I haven't had time to really read previous posts (sorry) ...

Amongst the many other recordings, I have the three twofers that reissued the RCA material (BMG France). These can often be had at very cheap prices (without checking now, you might also be able to find them under the title "Indispensable" which was used for a later reissue?).

Besides the above-mentioned Peterson box, the Goodman small group stuff and the Vogue reissue (plus a Sonet reissue Hampton/Svend Asmussen) plus some other CDs, I have the following ... and I'm sure they have been mentioned here.

They are pretty flat transfers and the sound of most parts of this reissue series was quite good to excellent (f. ex.: Joe Newman, Basie Days!). These used to be all over the place for as little as $5, but they are becoming more and more scarce. Get them while you can (a quick search showed that the last one, #78, is already difficult to find fast).

Jazz Tribune # 61 ("Complete LH 37-38)

Disk: 1

1. My Last Affair

2. My Last Affair

3. Jivin' The Vibes

4. The Mood That I'm In

5. Hampton Stomp

6. Buzzin' Around With The Bee

7. Whoa Babe

8. Stompology

9. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

10. Rhythm, Rhythm (I Got Rhythm)

11. China Stomp (Chinatown, My Chinatown)

12. I Know That You Know

13. Confessin'

14. Drum Stomp (Crazy Rhythm)

15. Piano Stomp (Shine)

16. I Surrender Dear

17. The Object Of My Affection

Disk: 2

1. The Object Of My Affection

2. Judy

3. Baby Won't You Please Come Home

4. Everybody Loves My Baby

5. After You've Gone

6. I Just Couldn't Take It Baby

7. You're My Ideal

8. The Sun Will Shine Tonight

9. Ring Dem Bells

10. Don't Be That Way

11. I'm In The Mood For Swing

12. Shoe Shiner's Drag

13. Any Time At All

14. Muskrat Ramble

15. Down Home Jump

16. Rock Hill Special

17. Fiddle Diddle

Jazz Tribune # 74 ("Complete LH 1939)

Disk: 1

1. I Can't Give You Love

2. High Society

3. It Don't Mean A Thing

4. Johnny Get Your Horn And Blow It

5. Sweethearts On Parade

6. Shufflin' At The Hollywood

7. Shufflin' At The Hollywood

8. Denisson Swing

9. Wizzin' The Wizz

10. If It's Good

11. Stand By! For Further Announcements (And More Good News)

12. Ain't Cha Comin' Home

13. Big Wig In The Wigwam

14. Memories Of You

15. The Jumpin' Jive

16. Twelfth Street Rag

Disk: 2

1. When Lights Are Low, Take 2

2. When Lights Are Low

3. One Sweet Letter From You

4. Hot Mallets

5. Early Session Hop

6. I'm On My Way From You

7. Haven't Named It Yet

8. The Heebie Jeebies Are Rockin' The Town

9. The Heebie Jeebies Are Rockin' The Town

10. The Munson Street Breakdown

11. I've Found A New Baby

12. I Can't Get Started

13. Four Or Five Times

14. Gin For Christmas

15. Dinah

16. Dinah

17. My Buddy

18. Singin' The Blues

Jazz Tribune # 78 ("Complete LH 40-41)

Disk: 1

1. Shades Of Jade

2. Till Tom Special

3. Flying Home

4. Save It, Pretty Mama

5. Tempo And Swing

6. House Of Morgan

7. I'd Be Lost Without You

8. Central Avenue Breakdown

9. Jack The Bellboy

10. Dough-Rey-Mi

11. Dough-Rey-Mi

12. Jivin With Jarvis

13. Blue (Because Of You)

14. A Ghost Of A Chance

15. Just For Laffs

16. Martin On Every Block

17. Pig Foot Sonata

18. Charlie Was A Sailor

Disk: 2

1. Lost Love

2. I Nearly Lost My Mind

3. Altitude

4. Fiddle Dee Dee

5. Bogo Jo

6. Open House

7. Smart Alec

8. Bouncing At The Beacon

9. Give Me Some Skin

10. Now That You Are Mine

11. Chasin' With Chase

12. Three-Quarter Boogie

13. The Blue Room

14. Blue Interlude

15. Sing For Supper

16. Smoke House

17. You And Your Love

18. Who'll Buy My Bublitchki

[kh1958]

Ring Dem Bells--This is a collection of 1937-40 small group recordings. Very good material with excellent sound. This RCA Bluebird CD is out of print, but there are very inexpensive copies available from amazon.com seller.

[JSngry]

I found that RCA 6-LP box for $5.99 (new/sealed) in a cutout bin in Albuquerque back in 1981. Those were the days!

I see nobody's recommended the late-70s live date where he plays "Giant Steps", "Moment's Notice", & "Recorda Me" along with some old(er) favorites. That's long been the one that I credit with opening my ears (and mind) to just how bad a m-f Lionel Hampton really was. He doesn't sound "lost" by this more harmonically advanced material, nor does he affect "modernistic" devices that don't sound organic to hei. He just plays the shit the same way he plays everything else - inventively, effortlessly, and highly fluently. For somebody of hie generation to be able to do that over those changes is no small feat just from the standpoint of making your vocabulary fir the demands of those harmonies, which move in ways not conducive to typical "Swing Era" phrasings. It was hearing this stuff back in the day that made me realize that Lionel Hampton has always had big ears, a big spirit (demented as it sometimes got ), and, most of all, a willingness and abilty to just play music - any music - well for the sheer joy of playing it well. The closer I listened to the older stuff, the more I heard how advanced he was for his time, and the more I listened to his later stuff, the more I heard the serious chops and thought that he brought to all but the most extroverted extravaganzas. In short, in spite of all the extracurriculars, Lionel Hapton was a serious player.

Hamp spent a lot of his career & energy playing the showman, and I think his reputation as a serious musician is to this day underestimated as a result. Oh well. People hear what they want to hear how they want to hear it for the reasons they want to hear it that way. But make no mistake - Lionel Hampton was a baaaaad muthaphuquer!

[brownie]

I am still waiting for FreshSound (or Mosaic?) to release the complete Concert Hall session from 1956 where Lionel Hampton gathered Ray Copeland, Jimmy Cleveland, Lucky Thompson, Oscard Dennard, Oscar Pettiford and Gus Johnson. It turned out to be one of the best session from that fertile era!

[Big Beat Steve]

Ha, picked up a SPARE copy of the original Jazztone issue LP of that one in very listenable condition for 1€ (ONE euro) at a record clearance sale last week. Who could have resisted at that kind of money?

[king ubu]

I am still waiting for FreshSound (or Mosaic?) to release the complete Concert Hall session from 1956 where Lionel Hampton gathered Ray Copeland, Jimmy Cleveland, Lucky Thompson, Oscard Dennard, Oscar Pettiford and Gus Johnson. It turned out to be one of the best session from that fertile era!

Oh yes! I have heard an LP full of that date, great music!

Also the Sonet never mentioned is terrific! Forgot to mention that I had that one as well.

[brownie]

I am still waiting for FreshSound (or Mosaic?) to release the complete Concert Hall session from 1956 where Lionel Hampton gathered Ray Copeland, Jimmy Cleveland, Lucky Thompson, Oscard Dennard, Oscar Pettiford and Gus Johnson. It turned out to be one of the best session from that fertile era!

Oh yes! I have heard an LP full of that date, great music!

But none of the LP issues have the complete session

Neither has this CD on the Early Bird label

[JSngry]

I see nobody's recommended the late-70s live date where he plays "Giant Steps", "Moment's Notice", & "Recorda Me" along with some old(er) favorites.

Forgot to mention that this was/is a Timeless date that's been released in the US on Muse (LP) & Impulse! (CD).

[EKE BBB]

Not amongst LH's milestones, of course, but just a curiosity that some may like:

Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra and Quintet - Jazz Flamenco (latest CD reissue on the Spanish RCA, 1998)

In fact I don't like the orchestra tracks at all. Kind of Spanish tinged (???) pastiche, with the addition of María Angélica's castanets (!!!). I very much prefer the three quintet tracks that feature a 23-years-old Tete Montoliu on piano, specially his long solo on "Tenderly" (one of Tete's warhorses at that time).

[kh1958]

Not amongst LH's milestones, of course, but just a curiosity that some may like:

Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra and Quintet - Jazz Flamenco (latest CD reissue on the Spanish RCA, 1998)

In fact I don't like the orchestra tracks at all. Kind of Spanish tinged (???) pastiche, with the addition of María Angélica's castanets (!!!). I very much prefer the three quintet tracks that feature a 23-years-old Tete Montoliu on piano, specially his long solo on "Tenderly" (one of Tete's warhorses at that time).

I have that on LP and like it.

[Chuck Nessa]

Not amongst LH's milestones, of course, but just a curiosity that some may like:

Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra and Quintet - Jazz Flamenco (latest CD reissue on the Spanish RCA, 1998)

In fact I don't like the orchestra tracks at all. Kind of Spanish tinged (???) pastiche, with the addition of María Angélica's castanets (!!!). I very much prefer the three quintet tracks that feature a 23-years-old Tete Montoliu on piano, specially his long solo on "Tenderly" (one of Tete's warhorses at that time).

Five titles from that lp were included on

[Peter Friedman]

I have 4 CDs on the MM label that include all 91 tracks of the great RCA Hampton small group material.These French CDs released in 1990 & 1991 have very good sound.

Don't overlook the Impulse recording titled "You Better Know It!!!" that has Hampton joined by Ben Webster, Clark Terry, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson.

There is also a Hampton Japanese CD that was released not too long ago on the FOA label called "Mack The Knife". On this one the sidemen are Gene Harris, Ron Eschete, Ray Brown and Grady Tate.

My CD copy of the Hampton session with Lucky Thompson, Jimmy Cleveland, Ray Copeland, Oscar Dennard, Oscar Pettiford and Gus Johnson is on the Excelsior label and titled "My Man". It has 10 tracks.

[Hot Ptah]

I agree that the 1930s-1940s RCA small combo recordings are fantastic.

This is not the first album to buy, but it is interesting, and shows Hampton's versatility as of 1977:

November 17, 1977.

Lionel Hampton Presents The Music of Charles Mingus.

Lionel Hampton, (vibes). Jack Walrath, Woody Shaw (tp); Ricky Ford, Paul Jeffrey, Gerry Mulligan (saxes);

Bob Nellums (p); Charles Mingus (b); Danny Richmond (d). LP: WWLP 21005.

So Long Eric - Stop - Farewell Farewell- Just For Laughs 1 - Just For Laughs 2 - It Might as well be Spring -

Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love - Fables of Fables - Caroline Keikki Mingus -

Just for Laughs is "Remember Rockefeller at Attica" from the Changes album.

This is one of Charles Mingus' final recordings on which he was still able to play bass.

Edited April 25, 2007 by Hot Ptah

[Shawn]

This is one of my faves.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Lionel recorded some serious early '70s funk for Brunswick, which I heard in about '73/'74 and thought that I'd better get. But I didn't.

MG

[medjuck]

I have 4 CDs on the MM label that include all 91 tracks of the great RCA Hampton small group material.These French CDs released in 1990 & 1991 have very good sound.

91! I thought I had a done pretty good by collecting 33 from various Hampton, Hawkins, Berry, etc compilations. I sure wish someone would re-issue all 91 again.

[mmilovan]

Can you give some specific recommendations regarding RCA - big band or small group? I have none of it and never saw anything in local CD shops...

The only Hamp I have, besides the Paris stuff (all of it, also the ones in the JiP series) and the Tatum date is the 2CD Decca set, so I'd definitely be interested in getting more (mainly earlier stuff, meaning RCA rather than the OP/Verve albums)!

Naxos is very fair when issuing "historic jazz" - and the sound is the best you can get from ordinary 78 rpm record:

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.120651

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.120766

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.120621

[brownie]

The Lionel Hampton Orchestra - with Betty Carter - in 'Cobb's Idea' around 1951.

The musicians include Benny Bailey, Al Grey, Jimmy Cleveland, Jerome Richardson (playing alto), Milt Buckner, Billy Mackel, etc...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7rOzOZE0NM

[EKE BBB]

The Lionel Hampton Orchestra - with Betty Carter - in 'Cobb's Idea' around 1951.

The musicians include Benny Bailey, Al Grey, Jimmy Cleveland, Jerome Richardson (playing alto), Milt Buckner, Billy Mackel, etc...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7rOzOZE0NM

Thanks, brownie. That was fun!

[Tjazz]

This is one of my faves.

Agree, this is a HOT album.

[Fer Urbina]

So the AVID budget CDs might be the best possible option in every respect. I don't know where CLASSICS got their material from or how they did their remasters but I am willing to bet (thinking of the way those cheapo public domain CDs over here in Europe operate) that AVID took their material from other CD's and NOT from vinyls. So they probably used the Classics reissues as a basis.

Just got Hampton's volume 2 on Avid. Have yet to listen to it, but in the back it says

3 Dimensional Sound is considered by many as the only really convincing means of producing a stereo effecto from mono

Not a good start, at least for me. We'll see.

F

[Fer Urbina]

OK. Have listened to the second volume of the AVIDs and the sound is very good, very clean, no click or pops. Source records are said to come from a big fan of Hampton's. The stereo simulation is not too intrusive, and there is a nice separation of instruments (quite easy to follow the different horns in Benny Carter's arrangements in the "When Lights Are Low" session). That said, for some reason I'm not wholly confortable with the sound, I'd probably rather have a direct transfer from clean 78s (what Schaap did for the BG Carnegie Hall concert should work marvels with clean, nice 78s, right?)

Half the liner notes are by Brian Priestley, very informative, as usual. Tune selection include a couple of broadcasts, very good sound too.

All in all, for that price (in the UK), I'd definitely go for these.

F

[montg]

OK. Have listened to the second volume of the AVIDs and the sound is very good, very clean, no click or pops. Source records are said to come from a big fan of Hampton's. The stereo simulation is not too intrusive, and there is a nice separation of instruments (quite easy to follow the different horns in Benny Carter's arrangements in the "When Lights Are Low" session). That said, for some reason I'm not wholly confortable with the sound, I'd probably rather have a direct transfer from clean 78s (what Schaap did for the BG Carnegie Hall concert should work marvels with clean, nice 78s, right?)

Half the liner notes are by Brian Priestley, very informative, as usual. Tune selection include a couple of broadcasts, very good sound too.

All in all, for that price (in the UK), I'd definitely go for these.

F

I have the second volume of these and I agree with everything you said regarding the sound. These classic sides could really benefit from a new clean-up and remastering of the original 78s by Sony/BMG (or Mosaic I suppose). Generally, the studio sound from Victor during this period is pretty good, with a little tlc they could probably really sparkle.