Description:
Lionel Hampton once remarked that "all the time I was tuned in to what Norman Granz was doing, and he was doing things right. He recorded a lot of black musicians when they wouldn't have been recorded elsewhere." Given the fact that Granz took care of the slumping careers of artists like Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter and scores of others in the early fifties, it is only logic that Lionel Hampton also joined the roster of musicians working for Norman Granz. Volume 12 of the complete recordings of Lionel Hampton presented in chronological order, opens with the last session he made for MGM. This chapter in Hampton's career has occasionally been derided because he did make some inferior music at the time but these tracks are entirely different. With the big band at full blast, Hampton rides over a star studded ensemble. Based on the sheer quality of this music it is incredible that Hampton did not make any other studio sessions for the next two years ! Not long after signing up with Granz, Hampton made his first new recordings, including some studio all star jam sessions. The quartet performances unite Hampton with Peterson and one might expect simple free for all strings of solos but, although tunes were called on the spot and no rehearsals were deemed necessary, both Hampton and Peterson play some of their most intelligent music of the time. They listen to each other, pick up ideas in the counter melody and swing with incredible energy. "Always", full of harmonic variations, ranks among the loveliest items from this batch but the best was yet to come. Fantastic music played with ease and perfection! |