CD 1
Hamp & Getz
1. Cherokee
2. BALLAD MEDLEY: Tenderly/Autumn in New York/East of the Sun (West of the Moon)/I Can't Get Started
3. Louise
4. Jumpin' at the Woodside
5. Gladys
Jam Session in Paris
6. Voice of the North
7. I Cover the Waterfront
8. Zebu
9. All the Things You Are
CD 2
The Complete 1953 Paris Session
1. September in the Rain
2. Free Press Oui
3. Always
4. Walking At the Trocadero
5. Real Crazy
6. More Crazy
7. More and More Crazy
8. Completely Crazy
9. I Only Have Eyes for You
10. Blue Panassie
CD 3
Apollo Hall Concert 1954
1. How High the Moon
2. Stardust
3. Lover Man
4. Midnight Sun
5. Love Is Here To Stay
6. The Nearness of You
7. Vibe Boogie
8. Flying Home
Lionel Hampton with the Just Jazz All Stars
9. Perdido
10. That's My Desire
11. Central Ave. Breakdown
CD 4
Lionel Hampton with the Just Jazz All Stars
1. Kaba's Blues
2. Hamp's Boogie Woogie
3. Flying Home
Lionel Hampton a l’Olympia
4. Patricia's Boogie
5. Blues for Sacha
6. Where or When
7. Perdido
8. Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
9. Blues One
10. Flying at the Olympia
11. Memories of You
12. Halleluja
13. Paulette's Boogie
14. Panama
15. One O'Clock Jump
CD 5
The Lionel Hampton – Art Tatum – Buddy Rich Trio
1. What Is This Thing Called Love?
2. I'll Never Be the Same
3. Makin' Whoopee
4. Hallelujah
5. Perdido
6. More Than You Know
7. How High the Moon
Lionel Hampton and his French New Sound Vol. 1
8. Voice of the North
9. A La French
10. Crazy Rhythm
11. Zebu
CD 6
Lionel Hampton and his French New Sound Vol. 2
1. All the Things You Are
2. I Cover the Waterfront
3. Red Ribbon
4. Night and Day
Jivin’ the Vibes
5. I Know That You Know
6. Drum Stomp
7. Muskrat Ramble
8. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
9. Piano Stomp
10. Jivin' the Vibes
11. High Society
12. It Don't Mean a Thing
13. Shoe Shiners Drag
14. I'm in the Mood for Swing
15. The Object of My Affections
16. Buzzin' Round with the Bee
CD 7
Lionel Hampton and his All Stars
1. Don't Be That Way
2. These Foolish Things
3. Moonglow
4. Dinah
5. It's Only a Paper Moon
6. The Way You Look Tonight
Lionel Hampton Plays Love Songs
7. Love for Sale
8. Stardust
9. I Can't Get Started
10. Willow Weep for Me
CD 8
Lionel Hampton Plays Drums, Vibes, Piano
1. Just One of Those Things
2. Thoughts of Thelma (Lazy Thoughts)
3. The Man I Love
4. One Step from Heaven
5. Darn That Dream
6. Stardust
7. Tracking Problem
8. Lullaby of Birdland
9. Blues for Stephen
10. And the Angels Sing
11. Our Love Is Here To Stay
12. I Know That You Know
Open House
13. Sweethearts on Parade
14. Memories of You
15. Gin for Christmas
16. Any Time at All
17. Hot Mallets
18. You're My Ideal
19. I Surrender, Dear
20. After You've Gone
21. One Sweet Letter from You
22. Rock Hill Special
23. Open House
CD 9
Hamp’s Big Band
1. Flying Home
2. Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
3. Hamp's Boogie Woogie
4. Kidney Stew
5. Hamp's Mambo
6. Air Mail Special
7. Big Brass
8. Red Top
9. Night Train
10. Elaine & Daffy
11. Cutter's Corner
12. Le Chat Noir
The Fabulous Lionel Hampton
13. Undecided
14. Lionel Choo-Choo
15. Romeo's Gone Now
16. Time for Lyons
17. What's Your Hurry?
18. Look! Four Hands
CD 10
Lionel Hampton at Malibu Beach
1. Flying Home
2. June Moon
3. Autumn
4. Starry Night
5. Out Of Gas
6. Short Of Breath
Many Splendoured Vibes
7. Three Coins in the Fountain
8. Where Are You
9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
10. Hi-Fly
11. Answer Me, My Love
12. Like Someone In Love
13. The Song from Moulin Rouge
14. Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
15. Spring Is Here
16. You Are Cruel
17. One Note Samba
18. I'll Be Seeing You
This boxed set is both a cornucopia and a curate’s egg. Fans of Lionel Hampton will revel in the riches of this set, which crams nearly 20 LPs onto ten CDs
in cardboard sleeves. Some of the albums are among Hamp’s finest, while others are in the forgettable arena.
Thankfully we start on a high: Hamp & Getz. Lionel may seem a diametrical opposite to Stan Getz: the showman versus the introvert. Yet they
both have the ability to play fast, inventively and swinging, with a liking for the odd quotation. Hamp seems to inject extra punch into Getz’s playing,
especially in Gladys, which rises from one excitement to another, with Getz honking away extrovertly. Hamp plays with a kind of stream of
consciousness: one musical quotation suggesting another. And he attempts things on the vibes which I have never heard any other vibist try. Like Louis
Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel is in danger of being underrated because of his showmanship and humour, but he deserves much higher acclaim, as many
tracks in this collection prove.
Jam Session in Paris
lists the same quintet as on Hamp & Getz but fails to mention the other horns I can distinctly hear. I suspect the real personnel is the one
listed for the second CD: The Complete 1953 Paris Session. The personnel listings in this box are either incorrect or missing, so I have not dared
to give them here. This second CD opens with Hamp alone at the vibes before launching into September in the Rain, accompanied simply by bass and
guitar. Lionel’s long-time guitarist Billy Mackel follows Hamp’s lead almost telepathically.
The third CD – Apollo Hall Concert 1954 - is one of Hamp’s finest live recordings. I have already reviewed it in these pages, so suffice it to say
that Stardust is one of his best-ever performances, a tune he obviously loved and recorded several times. Halfway through he doubles the tempo,
while the rhythm section keeps to the slower speed: very effective. Lionel Hampton with the Just Jazz All Stars is another masterly concert
recording, including sprightly trumpet from Charlie Shavers. Central Avenue Breakdown is the first example in this box of Lionel’s two-fingered
piano-playing as well as his drumming.
The fourth CD contains the rest of the Just Jazz concert plus a big-band show at the Olympia in Paris. Once we reach this disc, there seem to be rather too
many blues and boogies, some of which are crowd-rousers, accompanied by shouts of glee from Hamp. I prefer him improvising on standards, such as tracks 11
and 12. Introducing the band, Gene Norman says that Hamp “is most famous for his antics”, and this might apply to some of the tracks on this disc but other
tracks show that Lionel had much more to offer.
The fifth CD includes one of the classic LPs produced by Norman Granz, featuring Hamp with Art Tatum and Buddy Rich. It shows that Tatum could be a busy
but not excessive accompanist, fitting in well with Lionel. Makin’ Whoopee lets Tatum share duets with Buddy Rich. Later, Rich does fragmentary
breaks against contributions from the other two players. How High The Moon gives Rich the chance to let loose in a splendid drum solo. Four tracks
of Lionel Hampton and His French New Sound complete the fifth CD, and the LP is completed on the next disc. It contains valuable contributions
from trumpeter Benny Bailey and pianist René Urtreger, as well as some scintillating vibes solos. The last tracks of this CD are labelled “Jivin’ the Vibes
(1957)” but they are actually cuts from the marvellous sessions that Hamp led in the late 1930s. These recordings could boast such great names as Benny
Carter, Johnny Hodges and Ziggy Elman.
The seventh CD comprises “Lionel Hampton and his All Stars” and “Lionel Hampton Plays Love Songs”. Both are dated as 1957, which is almost certainly wrong,
as Don’t Be That Way sounds like a 1938 recording, which had Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges among the personnel, even though they are not
listed. These Foolish Things includes some excellent solos. Stardust gives Lionel less solo space than the Apollo version but Oscar
Peterson gets more to himself.
The eighth CD doesn’t bother to list the personnel. Lionel Hampton Plays Drums, Vibes, Piano emphasises Hamp’s versatility but omits to mention
that he also does easy-going vocals, as he does on this LP. I have reviewed the album on this website before. Open House contains more of those
magical late-thirties cuts, including a fine trumpet solo on Any Time At All by Harry James.
I have also reviewed Hamp’s Big Band before – the first dozen tracks on the ninth CD. As I said then, “The music is loud, energetic, and almost
crosses the line from jazz into rhythm-and-blues”. Hamp plays marimba as well as vibes on The Fabulous Lionel Hampton.
The last CD contains Lionel Hampton at Malibu Beach and Many Splendoured Vibes. The former is a bit of a mess: a fuzzy recording with
some incomplete tracks and tunes disguised under other titles (e.g. Stardust listed as June Moon). When I bought it as an LP years ago, I
surmised that it might be a cut-down version of another album, or just a few random tracks thrown together without much care. Starry Night sounds
suspiciously like How High The Moon. Most tracks are vibes solos, although Short of Breath is a boogie-woogie duet at two pianos. The
second LP was one of several that Hamp recorded of current pop hits mixed with jazz standards. The performances are almost “easy listening”, complete with
Latin-American percussion even when it is unsuitable, as in Answer Me and Like Someone in Love. The Song From Moulin Rouge is
not really right for Hampton.
Despite its drawbacks (sloppy editing, lack of personnel listings, incorrect dates, etc.) this boxed set is well worth having if you are a Hampton fan or
just want to explore some of his output. It is especially worth buying if you can get it at a bargain price, which in some places can be achieved for just
over a pound a disc. And if you are not yet a fan, it may win you over with Lionel’s enthusiasm, inventiveness, swing and witty delivery – salted with
quotations from many other tunes.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Intense Media 600290
