Coleman Hawkins Quartet: Complete 1962 Studio Recordings (4 LPs on 2 CDs)

STEREO
DOUBLE CD
24 BIT
DIGITALLY REMASTERED
4 LPs on 2 CDs
The sound of Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969) remains, after all these years, as immediately recognizable as his direct and compelling ability to swing. No jazzman played with more fire the uptempo tunes and no one could be more persuasive on ballads. With the fluent support of his then-regular rhythm section, he made these four excellent albums. Three "Good Old Broadway," "No Strings," "Make Someone Happy" which include jazz versions of Broadway show tunes, are from Prestige's Moodsville series. The fourth, "Today and Now," made for Impulse, explores everything from gentle, moody ballads and bluesy, mid-tempo pieces to some Hawk originals. Overall, this 2-CD set is an interesting mixture of classics and undeservedly lesser-known compositions. Hawk gives each of these richly melodic songs a broadly warm and moving reading. Tommy Flanagan is his usual imperturbable, tastefully swinging self, intuitively grasping the feeling of the tunes and showing he was among the best pianists, technically and creatively, excellent as a soloist and a superb accompanist. On drums, Eddie Locke is typically capable, and bassist Major Holley contributes some delightfully humorous solos in a quartet that shows how to play firstrate, uncomplicated music.