Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir Raise Up Off Me, which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975.
Early life
Hampton Hawes was born on November 13, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. His father, Hampton Hawes Sr., was minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Life and career
By his teens, Hawes was playing with some of 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 18, was playing for eight months with the Howard McGhee Quintet at the Hi De Ho Club, in a group that included Charlie Parker., in the 289th Army Band, the American Embassy, and extensively in Tokyo and Yokohama's jazz clubs. Hawes greatly influenced local jazz musicians in post-war Japan (one of whom was a young Toshiko Akiyoshi, a profound admirer of Hawes) who had previously relied on what few recordings they could obtain to understand the new developments in the music. However, he ran into trouble with the law due to narcotics use. He was arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned in Tokyo before being sent back to California to serve out his time in 1954.
After his discharge from the Army, Hawes formed his own trio, with bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Chuck Thompson. With help from inside and outside the prison, Hawes submitted an official application for Executive Clemency. In August 1963, Kennedy granted Hawes clemency, the 42nd of only 43 such pardons given in the final year of Kennedy's presidency.
Hampton Hawes died unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage in 1977, at the age of 48.
Style and influence
Hawes' playing style developed in the mid-1940s. He included "figures used by Parker and [[Bud Powell|[Bud] Powell]] (but he played with a cleaner articulation than Powell), some Oscar Peterson phrases, and later, some Bill Evans phrases [...], and an impressive locked-hands style in which the top notes always sang out clearly." 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. Hawes also learned much from pianists Powell and Nat King Cole, among others. However, his principal source of influence was his friend Charlie Parker; "It was Bird`s conception of time that influenced me most...Of course I didn`t try to copy his solos or anything like that, but I think Parker has influenced me more than anybody, even piano players."
Discography
As leader/co-leader
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Recording date
! Title
! Label
! Year released
! Personnel/Notes
|-
|1951-9
|The Hampton Hawes Trio
| Vantage Records
| 1951
| With Harper Cosby (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums).
|-
|1952-12
|Hampton Hawes Quartet
| Prestige
|1955
| Quartet, with Clarence Jones (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums), Larry Bunker (vibraphone). Later re-issued on "Freddie Redd/Hampton Hawes Piano: East/West" by Prestige in 1956.
|-
| 1955-06
| Hampton Hawes Trio
| Contemporary
| 1955
| One track solo piano; most tracks trio, with Red Mitchell (bass), Chuck Thompson (drums).
|-
| 1955-06, <br/>1955-12, <br/>1956-01
| This Is Hampton Hawes
| Contemporary
| 1956
| Trio, with Red Mitchell (bass), Chuck Thompson (drums)
|-
| 1956-01
| Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes
| Contemporary
| 1956
| Trio, with Red Mitchell (bass), Chuck Thompson (drums)
|-
| 1956-11
| All Night Session! Vol. 1
| Contemporary
| 1958
| Quartet, with Jim Hall (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Eldridge Freeman (drums)
|-
| 1956-11
| All Night Session! Vol. 2
| Contemporary
| 1958
| Quartet, with Jim Hall (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Eldridge Freeman (drums)
|-
| 1956-11
| All Night Session! Vol. 3
| Contemporary
| 1958
| Quartet, with Jim Hall (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Eldridge Freeman (drums)
|-
| 1957-04, <br/>1957-05
| Baritones and French Horns
| Prestige
| 1958
| Septet, with Curtis Fuller (trombone), Sahib Shihab (alto sax), David Amram and Julius Watkins (French horn), Addison Farmer (bass), Jerry Segal (drums); originally issued with other recordings; reissued as Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns by Status
|-
| 1958-01
| Four!
| Contemporary
| 1958
| Quartet, with Barney Kessel (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)
|-
| 1956-01, <br/>1958-03
| Bird Song
| Contemporary
| 1999
| Most tracks trio with Paul Chambers (bass), Larance Marable (drums); two tracks trio listing Scott LaFaro (bass), Frank Butler (drums)
|-
| 1958-03
| For Real!
| Contemporary
| 1961
| Quartet, with Harold Land (tenor sax), Scott LaFaro (bass), Frank Butler (drums)
|-
| 1958-11
| The Sermon
| Contemporary
| 1987
| Trio, with Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Stan Levey (drums)
|-
| 1964-02
| The Green Leaves of Summer
| Contemporary
| 1964
| Trio, with Monk Montgomery (bass), Steve Ellington (drums)
|-
| 1965-05
| Here and Now
| Contemporary
| 1966
| Trio, with Chuck Israels (bass), Donald Bailey (drums)
|-
| 1966-04, <br/>1966-05
| The Seance
| Contemporary
| 1969
| Trio, with Red Mitchell (bass), Donald Bailey (drums)
|-
| 1966-04, <br/>1966-05
| I'm All Smiles
| Contemporary
| 1973
| Trio, with Red Mitchell (bass), Donald Bailey (drums)
|-
| 1967
| Hamp's Piano
| SABA
| 1969
| also released as Hampton Hawes in Europe (Prestige)
|-
| 1968-01
| Key for Two
| BYG Actuel
| 1973
| with Martial Solal
|-
| 1968-03
| Spanish Steps
| Black Lion
| 1971
| Trio, with Jimmy Woode (bass), Art Taylor (drums). also released as Blues for Bud
|-
| 1968-05
| The Challenge
| Victor
| 1968
| Solo piano
|-
| 1968?
| Jam Session
| Columbia
| 1968
| with Isao Suzuki (bass), George Otsuka (drums), Shungo Sawada (guitar), Akira Miyazawa (ts), Hidehiko Matsumoto (ts)
|-
| 1970?
| High in the Sky
| Vault
| 1970
| Trio, with Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Donald Bailey (drums)
|-
| 1971-09
| This Guy's in Love with You
| Freedom
| 1974
| Trio, with Henry Franklin (bass), Michael Carvin (drums); in concert; also released as Live at the Montmartre (Freedom)
|-
| 1971-09
| A Little Copenhagen Night Music
| Freedom
| 1977
| Trio, with Henry Franklin (bass), Michael Carvin (drums); in concert
|-
| 1972-06
| Universe
| Prestige
| 1972
| With Oscar Brashear (trumpet), Harold Land tenor sax), Arthur Adams (guitar), Chuck Rainey (electric bass), Ndugu (drums)
|-
| 1973-01
| Blues for Walls
| Prestige
| 1973
| Two tracks quartet, with George Walker (guitar), Henry Franklin (bass, electric bass), Ndugu (drums); most tracks sextet, with Oscar Brashear (trumpet), Hadley Caliman (soprano sax, tenor sax) added
|-
| 1973-06
| Live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago Volume One
| Enja
| 1981
| Trio, with Cecil McBee (bass), Roy Haynes (drums); in concert
|-
| 1973-06
| Live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago Volume Two
| Enja
| 1989
| Trio, with Cecil McBee (bass), Roy Haynes (drums); in concert
|-
| 1973-07
| Playin' in the Yard
| Prestige
| 1973
| Trio, with Bob Cranshaw (electric bass), Kenny Clarke (drums); in concert
|-
| 1974-07
| Northern Windows
| Prestige
| 1974
| With Allen DeRienzo and Snooky Young (trumpet), George Bohanon (trombone), Bill Green, Jackie Kelso and Jay Migliori (saxes, flute), Carol Kaye (electric bass), Spider Webb (drums)
|-
| 1975-06
| Recorded Live at the Great American Music Hall
| Concord Jazz
| 1983
| Duo, with Mario Suraci (bass)
|-
| 1976-01, <br/>1976-08
| As Long as There's Music
| Artists House
| 1978
| Duo, with Charlie Haden (bass)
|-
| 1976-06
| Something Special
| Contemporary
| 1994
| Quartet, with Denny Diaz (guitar), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Al Williams (drums); in concert;
|-
| 1976-08
| Hampton Hawes at the Piano
| Contemporary
| 1978
| Trio, with Ray Brown (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)
|-
| 1977?
| Memory Lane Live
| JAS
| 1977
| with Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Bobby Thompson (drums), Harry Edison (trumpet), Sonny Criss (as), Teddy Edwards (ts: B2), Joe Turner (vocals: A3,B1)
|}
Compilations
- The Hampton Hawes Memorial Album (Xanadu, 1982) – rec. 1952–56
- Trio and Quartet 1951-1956 Live and Studio Sessions (Fresh Sound, 2005)[2CD] – rec. 1951–56
As sideman
With Dexter Gordon
- Blues à la Suisse (Prestige, 1974) – rec. 1973
- The Hunt (Savoy, 1977) – rec. 1947
With Barney Kessel
- Kessel Plays Standards (Contemporary, 1955)
- Let's Cook! (Contemporary, 1962) – rec. 1957
With Art Pepper
- Surf Ride (Savoy, 1956) – rec. 1952–54
- Living Legend (Contemporary, 1975)
- The Early Show (Xanadu, 1979) – rec. 1952
With Shorty Rogers
- Modern Sounds (Capitol, 1951)
- Shorty Rogers and His Giants (RCA Victor, 1953)
With others
- Gene Ammons, Gene Ammons and Friends at Montreux (Prestige, 1973)
- Sonny Criss, I'll Catch the Sun! (Prestige, 1969)
- Art Farmer, On the Road (Contemporary, 1976)
- Wardell Gray, Live in Hollywood (Xanadu, 1978) – rec. 1952
- Warne Marsh, Live in Hollywood (Xanadu, 1979) – rec. 1952
- Charles Mingus, Mingus Three (Jubilee, 1957)
- Blue Mitchell, Stratosonic Nuances (RCA, 1975)
- Red Mitchell, Red Mitchell (Bethlehem, 1955)
- Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (Contemporary, 1958)
- Bud Shank, Bud Shank – Shorty Rogers – Bill Perkins (Pacific Jazz, 1955)
- Sonny Stitt, So Doggone Good (Prestige, 1972)
Bibliography
- Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes by Hampton Hawes, Don Asher, and Gary Giddins
- Hampton Hawes: A Discography by Roger Hunter & Mike Davis. 127pp. Manana Publications, Manchester, England. 1986.
See also
- Hard bop
- Soul jazz
- List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
References
External links
- Hampton Hawes at Find A Grave
- Hampton Hawes Discography
- "Hampton Hawes and the Low Blues" by Ethan Iverson