AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Coleman Hawkins

Artist:Coleman Hawkins

Song:Body and Soul

Album:A Retrospective 1929-1963

This is another in my ongoing series of Jazz for Beginners with a performance video and a comp CD appropriate for beginners. Coleman Hawkins was an important figure in jazz history. He was the first prominent jazz saxophonist. His 1939 recording of Body and Soul was a big hit. He was also a bridge from the traditional jazz of Louis Armstrong and the bebop of Dizzy Gillespie. He was comfortable playing both. Plenty of musicians weren't. Hawkins was born Nov. 21, 1904 in St. Joseph, MO. Coleman was his mother's maiden name. He took piano lessons as a child and switched to the sax at age nine. Hawkins attended high school in Topeka, KS. and studied harmony and composition at Washburn College in Topeka. Hawkins' nickname was Bean probably due to his receding hairline. Hawkins moved to New York and was in Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds for a couple of years. Then he was in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra from 1924-34. He was a featured soloist. Then he moved to London to play with Jack Hylton's band. Hawkins moved to Paris and played with Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter. Then he returned to New York in 1939. And that's when he recorded Body and Soul for RCA's Bluebird label. Body and Soul was written in 1930 by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman for British actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence. Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1930. Hawkins became familiar with the song while in Europe. He frequently used it as his encore in clubs. Hawkins' recording of Body and Soul was a big enough hit to return him to prominence in jazz. Musicians on the recording are Tommy Lindsay and Joe Guy on trumpet, Early Hardy on trombone, Jackie Fields and Eustis Moore on alto sax, Gene Rodgers on piano, William Oscar Smith on bass and Arthur Herbert on drums. This 2CD budget comp covers Hawkins' RCA recordings. In the 40s, Hawkins was involved with the development of bebop. He recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Thelonious Monk. He continued this diversity in the 50s by touring with Jazz At The Philharmonic. This continued until Hawkins got ill in the late 60s due to heavy drinking and died of liver disease on May 18, 1969 at age 64. Here's Coleman Hawkins with Einer Iversen on piano, Jarie Krogstad on bass Ole Jacob Hansen on drums performing Body and Soul at the Metropol Restaurant in Oslo, Norway Feb. 16, 1963.