Hampton Hawes
Encyclopedia
Hampton Hawes was an American
bebop
and hard-bop jazz
pianist
, recognized as one of the finest and most influential of the 1950s
.
. His father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., was minister of Westminster Presbysterian Church in Los Angeles
. His mother, the former Gertrude Holman, was Westminster's church pianist.
Hawes' first experience at the piano was as a toddler sitting on his mother's lap while she practiced. He was reportedly able to pick out fairly complex tunes by the age of three. Entirely self-taught, by his teens Hawes was playing with the leading jazz musicians on the West Coast, including Dexter Gordon
, Wardell Gray
, Art Pepper
, Shorty Rogers
, and Teddy Edwards
. His second professional job, at 19, was playing for eight months with the Howard McGhee
Quintet at the Hi De Ho Club, in a group that included Charlie Parker
.
After serving in the U.S. army in Japan from 1952–1954, Hawes formed his own trio, with the bassist
Red Mitchell
and drummer
Chuck Thompson. The three-record Trio sessions made by this group in 1955 on Contemporary Records
were considered some of the finest records to come out of the West Coast at the time. The next year, Hawes added guitarist Jim Hall
for the All Night Sessions - three records made during a non-stop recording session at the Contemporary Studios in Los Angeles.
After a six-month national tour in 1956, Hawes won the 'New Star of the Year' award in Down Beat
magazine, and 'Arrival of the Year' in Metronome
magazine. The following year, Hawes recorded in New York City with Charles Mingus on the album "Mingus Three" (Jubilee JLP 1054, 1957).
Struggling for many years with a heroin addiction, Hawes became the target of a federal undercover operation in Los Angeles in 1958. The Drug Enforcement Agency bargained that Hawes would inform on suppliers in L.A. rather than risk a successful music career. Hawes was arrested on heroin charges on his 30th birthday, but refused to cooperate, and as a result was sentenced to ten years in a federal prison hospital - twice the mandatory minimum. In the weeks between his trial and sentencing, Hawes recorded an album of spirituals and gospel songs, The Sermon, for Contemporary Records.
After serving three years at Fort Worth Federal Medical Facility in Texas, in 1961 Hawes was watching President Kennedy's
inaugural speech on television, when he became convinced that Kennedy would pardon him. In an almost miraculous turn, President Kennedy granted Hawes Executive Clemency in 1963, the 42nd of only 43 such pardons given in the final year of Kennedy's presidency.
After his release from prison, Hawes resumed playing and recording. During a world tour in 1967-68, the pianist was surprised to discover that he had become a legend among jazz listeners overseas. During a ten-month tour of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Hawes recorded nine albums, played sold out shows and concert halls in ten countries, and was covered widely in the press, appearing on European television and radio.
Raise Up Off Me, Hawes' autobiography, written with Don Asher and published in 1974, shed light on his heroin addiction, the bebop
movement, and his friendships with some of the leading jazz musicians of his time. The book won the prestigious ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Critic Gary Giddins, who wrote the book's introduction, calls Raise Up Off Me "a major contribution to the literature of jazz." The Penguin Guide to Jazz cites it as "one of the most moving memoirs ever written by a musician, and a classic of jazz writing."
In the 1970s, Hawes experimented with electronic music (Fender-Rhodes made a special instrument for him), although eventually he returned to playing the acoustic piano.
As a pianist Hawes' style is instantly recognizable - for its almost unparalleled swing, unique approach to time and harmony, and its depth of emotional expression, particularly in a blues context. Hawes influenced a great number of other pianists including André Previn
, Oscar Peterson
, Horace Silver
, Claude Williamson
, Pete Jolly
, Toshiko Akiyoshi
and others. Hawes' own influences came from a number of sources, including the gospel music and spirituals he heard in his father's church as a child, and the boogie-woogie piano of Earl Hines
. He also learned much from pianists Bud Powell
and Nat King Cole
among others. By Hawes' own account, however, his principal source of influence was his friend Charlie Parker
.
Hampton Hawes died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 1977, at only 48 years old. He is buried next to his father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., who had passed away five months earlier, at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. In 2004, the City Council of Los Angeles passed a resolution declaring November 13 'Hampton Hawes Day' throughout the City of Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
and hard-bop jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, recognized as one of the finest and most influential of the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
.
Biography
Hampton Barnett Hawes, Jr. was born November 13, 1928 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., was minister of Westminster Presbysterian Church in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His mother, the former Gertrude Holman, was Westminster's church pianist.
Hawes' first experience at the piano was as a toddler sitting on his mother's lap while she practiced. He was reportedly able to pick out fairly complex tunes by the age of three. Entirely self-taught, by his teens Hawes was playing with the leading jazz musicians on the West Coast, including Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
, and Teddy Edwards
Teddy Edwards
Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards was an American jazz tenor saxophonist based on the West Coast of the US. Some consider him to be one of the most influential jazz saxophonists.-Biography:...
. His second professional job, at 19, was playing for eight months with the Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
Quintet at the Hi De Ho Club, in a group that included Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
.
After serving in the U.S. army in Japan from 1952–1954, Hawes formed his own trio, with the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Red Mitchell
Red Mitchell
Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927, New York City - November 8, 1992, Salem, Oregon, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. He was the brother of Whitey Mitchell....
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Chuck Thompson. The three-record Trio sessions made by this group in 1955 on Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings based in New York...
were considered some of the finest records to come out of the West Coast at the time. The next year, Hawes added guitarist Jim Hall
Jim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...
for the All Night Sessions - three records made during a non-stop recording session at the Contemporary Studios in Los Angeles.
After a six-month national tour in 1956, Hawes won the 'New Star of the Year' award in Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine, and 'Arrival of the Year' in Metronome
Metronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
magazine. The following year, Hawes recorded in New York City with Charles Mingus on the album "Mingus Three" (Jubilee JLP 1054, 1957).
Struggling for many years with a heroin addiction, Hawes became the target of a federal undercover operation in Los Angeles in 1958. The Drug Enforcement Agency bargained that Hawes would inform on suppliers in L.A. rather than risk a successful music career. Hawes was arrested on heroin charges on his 30th birthday, but refused to cooperate, and as a result was sentenced to ten years in a federal prison hospital - twice the mandatory minimum. In the weeks between his trial and sentencing, Hawes recorded an album of spirituals and gospel songs, The Sermon, for Contemporary Records.
After serving three years at Fort Worth Federal Medical Facility in Texas, in 1961 Hawes was watching President Kennedy's
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
inaugural speech on television, when he became convinced that Kennedy would pardon him. In an almost miraculous turn, President Kennedy granted Hawes Executive Clemency in 1963, the 42nd of only 43 such pardons given in the final year of Kennedy's presidency.
After his release from prison, Hawes resumed playing and recording. During a world tour in 1967-68, the pianist was surprised to discover that he had become a legend among jazz listeners overseas. During a ten-month tour of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Hawes recorded nine albums, played sold out shows and concert halls in ten countries, and was covered widely in the press, appearing on European television and radio.
Raise Up Off Me, Hawes' autobiography, written with Don Asher and published in 1974, shed light on his heroin addiction, the bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
movement, and his friendships with some of the leading jazz musicians of his time. The book won the prestigious ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Critic Gary Giddins, who wrote the book's introduction, calls Raise Up Off Me "a major contribution to the literature of jazz." The Penguin Guide to Jazz cites it as "one of the most moving memoirs ever written by a musician, and a classic of jazz writing."
In the 1970s, Hawes experimented with electronic music (Fender-Rhodes made a special instrument for him), although eventually he returned to playing the acoustic piano.
As a pianist Hawes' style is instantly recognizable - for its almost unparalleled swing, unique approach to time and harmony, and its depth of emotional expression, particularly in a blues context. Hawes influenced a great number of other pianists including André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, Claude Williamson
Claude Williamson
Claude Berkeley Williamson is a jazz pianist.Williamson studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to jazz, influenced mainly by Teddy Wilson, then by Al Haig and Bud Powell...
, Pete Jolly
Pete Jolly
Pete Jolly was an American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist....
, Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
and others. Hawes' own influences came from a number of sources, including the gospel music and spirituals he heard in his father's church as a child, and the boogie-woogie piano of Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
. He also learned much from pianists Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
and Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
among others. By Hawes' own account, however, his principal source of influence was his friend Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
.
Hampton Hawes died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 1977, at only 48 years old. He is buried next to his father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., who had passed away five months earlier, at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. In 2004, the City Council of Los Angeles passed a resolution declaring November 13 'Hampton Hawes Day' throughout the City of Los Angeles.
As leader
- Hampton Hawes Early Years Trio and Quartet Sessions 1951-56 (Fresh Sounds Records CD 369)
- The Hampton Hawes Memorial Album (Xanadu 161) 1952–1956
- Hampton Hawes Trio, Vol. 1 - The Trio (Contemporary C 3505; Fantasy OJC 316, OJCCD 316-2) 1955
- This Is Hampton Hawes, Vol. 2 - The Trio (Contemporary C 3515; Fantasy OJC 318, OJCCD 318-2)
- Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes, Vol. 3 - The Trio (Contemporary C 3523; Fantasy OJC 421, OJCCD 421-2)
- All Night Session!, Vol. 1-3 (1956)
- Four! (Contemporary C 3553, S 7553; Stereo S 7026; Fantasy OJC 165, OJCCD 165-2) 1957
- The Sermon (Contemporary) 1958
- For Real! (Contemporary M 3589, S 7589; Fantasy OJCCD 713-2), 1958
- The Green Leaves of Summer (Contemporary C 3614, S 7614; Fantasy OJC 476, OJCCD 476-2) 1964
- The Seance (Contemporary C 3621, S 7621; Fantasy OJC 455, OJCCD 455-2) 1966
- Blues for Bud (Black Lion (J) TKCB 30073)
- Playin' in the Yard (Prestige P 10077) 1973
- Live at the Great American Music Hall (Concord Jazz CJ 222) 1975
- Hampton Hawes at the Piano (Contemporary S 7637) 1976 (released 1978)
- Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns (Status ST 8305; Fantasy OJCCD 1942-2) 1957
- Hampton Hawes, Martial Solal - Key for Two (BYG (F) 529 125) 1968
- Northern Windows (1974, Prestige)
- At the Piano (1976, Contemporary)
- As Long as There's MusicAs Long as There's MusicAs Long as There's Music is an album of duets by bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1976 and released on the Artists House label in 1978...
(1977, Artists HouseArtists House-Discography:...
, with Charlie HadenCharlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
) - A Little Copenhagen Night Music
- Live at the Montemarte
- This Guy's in Love with You
- Bird Song (1999, Contemporary OJCCD-1035-2) (Two prev. unreleased sessions 1956, 1958)
As sideman
- The Early ShowThe Early Show (album)The Early Show is a jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper, recorded on February 12, 1952 for Xanadu Records as his first album as leader.-Track listing:#"How High the Moon"#"Suzy the Poodle"#"Easy Steppin'"#"Tickle Toe"#"Patty Cake"#"Move"...
by Art PepperArt PepperArt Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
(1952; Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) - Red MitchellRed MitchellKeith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927, New York City - November 8, 1992, Salem, Oregon, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. He was the brother of Whitey Mitchell....
- Red Mitchell (Bethlehem) 1955 - Charles MingusCharles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Mingus Three (Jubilee JLP 1054) 1957 - Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary LeadersSonny Rollins and the Contemporary LeadersSonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track...
(Contemporary C 3564, S 7564; Fantasy OJC 340, OJCCD 340-2; 1958) - Sonny CrissSonny CrissWilliam "Sonny" Criss was an American jazz musician.An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker.-Biography:...
- I'll Catch the Sun! (Prestige) 1969 - Living LegendLiving Legend (Art Pepper album)Living Legend is a 1975 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper playing with Hampton Hawes, Charlie Haden and Shelly Manne.This was Art Pepper's 'comeback' album, the first to be released after his long absence due to drug addiction and incarceration in San Quentin prison...
by Art Pepper (Contemporary S 7633) 1975 (released 1976) - On the Road by Art FarmerArt FarmerArthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
(Contemporary S 7636) 1976