Coleman Hawkins | |
|---|---|
 Hawkinsc. 1945 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | "Bean", "Hawk" |
| Born | Coleman Randolph Hawkins (1904-11-21)November 21, 1904 St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | May 19, 1969(1969-05-19) (aged 64) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1921–1969 |
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an Americanjazz tenor saxophonist.[1] One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, asJoachim E. Berendt explained: "There were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn."[2] Hawkins biographerJohn Chilton described the prevalent styles of tenor saxophone solos prior to Hawkins as "mooing" and "rubbery belches".[3] Hawkins denied being first and noted his contemporariesHappy Caldwell,Stump Evans, andPrince Robinson, although he was the first to tailor his method ofimprovisation to the saxophone rather than imitate the techniques of the clarinet. Hawkins's virtuosic,arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that includedChu Berry,Charlie Barnet,Tex Beneke,Ben Webster,Vido Musso,Herschel Evans,Buddy Tate, andDon Byas, and through them the later tenormen,Arnett Cobb,Illinois Jacquet,Flip Phillips,Ike Quebec,Al Sears,[4]Paul Gonsalves, andLucky Thompson.[5] While Hawkins became known withswing music during thebig band era, he had a role in the development ofbebop in the 1940s.[1]
Fellow saxophonistLester Young, known as the "President of the Tenor Saxophone", commented, in a 1959 interview withThe Jazz Review: "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the president, first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one."[2]Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads."[2]
Hawkins was born inSaint Joseph, Missouri, United States,[6] in 1904. He was named Coleman after his mother Cordelia's maiden name. There is record of Hawkins's parents' first child, a girl, being born in 1901 and dying at the age of two.[3] At age four, Hawkins began to study thepiano, then thecello at age seven, before switching to the saxophone by age nine. By the age of fourteen, he was playing around eastern Kansas.[6] He attended high school in Chicago, then inTopeka,Kansas, atTopeka High School. He later stated that he studied harmony and composition for two years atWashburn College in Topeka while still attending high school.[6]
The origin of Hawkins's nickname, "Bean", is not clear.[7] Theories around the nickname's basis include a reference to Hawkins's head shape, his frugality (saying "I haven't a bean") or due to his immense knowledge ofchords.[8][9][10]
Hawkins's first significant gig was withMamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921,[6] and he was with the band full-time from April 1922 to 1923, when he settled in New York City. In the Jazz Hounds, he coincided withGarvin Bushell,Everett Robbins,Bubber Miley andHerb Flemming.[11] Hawkins joinedFletcher Henderson's Orchestra, where he remained until 1934,[6] sometimes doubling onclarinet andbass saxophone. Hawkins's playing changed significantly duringLouis Armstrong's tenure with the Henderson Orchestra (1924–25).[12][13] In the late 1920s, Hawkins participated in some of the earliest integrated recording sessions with theMound City Blue Blowers. During his time with Henderson, he became a star soloist with increasing prominence on records. While with the band, he andHenry "Red" Allen recorded a series of small group sides forARC (on theirPerfect,Melotone,Romeo, andOriole labels). Hawkins also recorded a number of solo recordings with either piano or a pick-up band of Henderson's musicians in 1933–34, just prior to his period in Europe. He was also featured on aBenny Goodman session on February 2, 1934 forColumbia, which also featuredMildred Bailey as guest vocalist.
In late 1934, Hawkins accepted an invitation to play withJack Hylton's orchestra in London,[6] and toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, performing and recording withDjango Reinhardt andBenny Carter in Paris in 1937.[14] During Hawkins's time touring Europe between 1934 and 1939, attention in the U.S. shifted to other tenor saxophonists, includingLester Young,Ben Webster, andChu Berry.[10] Following his return to the United States, he quickly re-established himself as one of the leading figures on the instrument by adding innovations to his earlier style.
On October 11, 1939, he recorded a two-chorus performance of the standard "Body and Soul",[6] which he had been performing atBert Kelly's New York venue,Kelly's Stables. In a landmark recording of the swing era, captured as an afterthought at the session, Hawkins ignores almost all of the melody, with only the first four bars stated in a recognizable fashion. Hawkins's departure from the melodic themes of the tune, use of upper chord intervals, and implied passing chords in that recording have been described as "one of the early tremors of bebop".[15]
Loren Schoenberg, Director ofNational Jazz Museum in Harlem, states that “no matter how nonchalantly Hawkins tried to make the choice to record 'Body And Soul' seem, it had long been his encore during his European years, and he had a lot riding on this session.Lester Young was at his zenith with theBasie band, and virtually all of the other major bands had a Hawkins-styled tenor in a featured position. The decades as a musical omnivore came to fruition as he signaled to pianist Gene Rodgers to make an introduction in Db. The sounds ofBach,Tatum,Armstrong, and the untold musicians who had filled his head and ears culminated in one of the greatest spontaneous set of variations ever recorded".[16]
%2c_New_York%2c_N.Y.%2c_ca._Sept._1946)_(LOC)_(4843746292).jpg)
After a brief period in 1940 leading abig band,[6] Hawkins led small groups at Kelly's Stables onManhattan's52nd Street. During 1944, He recorded in small and large groups for theKeynote,Savoy, andApollo labels.[17] Hawkins always had a keen ear for new talent and styles, and he was the leader on what is generally considered to have been the first everbebop recording session on February 16, 1944 includingDizzy Gillespie,Don Byas,Clyde Hart,Oscar Pettiford, andMax Roach.[18][19] On October 19, 1944, he led another bebop recording session withThelonious Monk on piano, Edward Robinson on bass, andDenzil Best on drums.
Given his love ofBach andPablo Casals and his own unquenchable thirst for self-expression, it was inevitable that Hawkins would move towards solo performances. During his European tour, he began surrounding his songs with unaccompanied introductions and codas. In January 1945 he recordedSolo Sessions.Harry Lim, a Javanese jazz lover who came to America in 1939, first produced jam sessions in Chicago and New York and then foundedKeynote Records, a premier small jazz label. In an article forMetronome magazine in May, 1944, Lim dubbed Hawkins “thePicasso of Jazz”.[16]
In 1945, he recorded extensively with small groups with Best and either Robinson or Pettiford on bass,Sir Charles Thompson on piano,Allan Reuss on guitar,Howard McGhee on trumpet, andVic Dickenson on trombone,[6] in sessions reflecting a highly individual style with an indifference toward the categories of "modern" and "traditional" jazz. That general period saw him recording with such diverse stylists asSid Catlett,Tyree Glenn,Hilton Jefferson (a Fletcher Henderson colleague),Hank Jones,Billy Taylor,J. J. Johnson andFats Navarro. He also toured withJazz at the Philharmonic (JATP). Hawkins divided his time between New York and Europe, making numerous freelance recordings.
In the 1950s, Hawkins performed with musicians such as Red Allen andRoy Eldridge, with whom he appeared at the 1957Newport Jazz Festival and recordedColeman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster with fellow tenor saxophonistBen Webster along withOscar Peterson,Herb Ellis,Ray Brown, andAlvin Stoller. His 1957 albumThe Hawk Flies High, withIdrees Sulieman, J. J. Johnson, Hank Jones,Barry Galbraith, Oscar Pettiford, andJo Jones, shows his interest in modern jazz styles, during a period better known for his playing with more traditional musicians.[6]
Hawkins's interest in more modern styles manifested in a reunion with Monk, with whom he had remained close even though they had not played together for over a decade.[6] Monk led a June 1957 session featuring Hawkins andJohn Coltrane, that yieldedMonk's Music,[6] issued later that summer.[20] Outtakes from this session comprised half of the tracks onThelonious Monk with John Coltrane, released on the Jazzland Records subsidiary ofRiverside Records in 1961.
In the 1960s, Hawkins appeared regularly at theVillage Vanguard inManhattan. In 1960, he participated in the recording of Max Roach'sWe Insist! suite,[6] part of the political and social linkages developing between jazz and thecivil rights movement. At the behest ofImpulse Records producerBob Thiele, Hawkins availed himself of a long-desired opportunity to record withDuke Ellington for the 1962 albumDuke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins,[6] alongside Ellington band membersJohnny Hodges,Lawrence Brown,Ray Nance, andHarry Carney as well as the Duke. Sessions for Impulse with his performing quartet yieldedToday and Now, also in 1962 and judged one of his better latter-day efforts byThe Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings.[21] Hawkins recorded in 1963 alongsideSonny Rollins for their collaborative albumSonny Meets Hawk!, forRCA Victor.
It was shortly after this busy period that Hawkins fell into the grip of depression and heavy drinking and his recording output began to wane.[6] His last recording was in 1967; Hawkins died of liver disease on May 19, 1969,[6] at Wickersham Hospital, in Manhattan. He was survived by his widow, Dolores, who died in 2010, and by three children: a son, Rene, and two daughters, Colette and Mimi.[22] Hawkins is interred in the Yew Plot at theWoodlawn Cemetery inThe Bronx, New York City.[1]
The Song of the Hawk, a 1990 biography written by British jazz historianJohn Chilton, chronicles Hawkins's career.
WithKenny Burrell
WithBenny Carter
WithDizzy Gillespie
WithTiny Grimes
WithLambert, Hendricks & Bavan
WithAbbey Lincoln
WithShelly Manne
WithThelonious Monk
WithBud Powell
WithBob Prince
WithDjango Reinhardt
WithMax Roach
WithRex Stewart andCootie Williams
WithBen Webster
WithRandy Weston
WithJoe Williams
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
