On Jazz Con Class there’s plenty of Coleman Hawkins to be heard but there hasn’t been an album of his featured. “The Hawk Flies High” will be featured for a few weeks or so. I will actually place it on the Hard Bop playlist because that’s the style of Jazz used. Coleman Hawkins is considered to be the best tenor Saxophonist ever because he simply reinvented it and incorporated into Jazz, nobody before him had done this. Even Lestor Young, who many feel was the first to do this, mentioned in an a Jazz Review interview “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.” They both had there own styles but Coleman Hawkins was the first. Every tenor saxophonist has a little Hawkins in them. This album is very interesting and very different, it doesn’t only features Coleman Hawkins as the driving force. Check the schedule link for play times.
About the album:
Although Coleman Hawkins was 51 when THE HAWK FLIES HIGH was recorded in 1957, he hadn’t lost any of the vigor or imaginative dexterity that had typified his original work in the `30s and `40s. In fact, one of Hawkins’s greatest assets was his ability to adapt to and incorporate changing styles, and that’s precisely what he does here by bringing his swing-inflected chops into a straight bop context. Surrounded by then-young firebrands J.J. Johnson and Idrees Sulieman (on trombone and trumpet, respectively), Hawkins turns in memorable performances on album highlights such as “Juicy Fruit,” “Laura,” and “Sanctity.” The disc was remastered and reissued in 2008…..Read More
