Search - Lionel Hampton :: Hot Mallets

Abolutlely Essential

Johnny Hodges | Clark Fork, ID United States | 12/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How unlikely you made it to this obscure listing for some long gone music. Now that you're here, I will reward you with some excellent advice: Seek this out used, pay too much, whatever you have to do, get this CD!



Lionel Hampton is more important here as musical director than musician. In the late '30s, when the rules were a little more slack, Hamp would skim musicians from their Bluebird big band sessions for his own adhoc small group sessions. These musicians under a less restrictive hand than their usual boss's, tended to cut loose with a startling degree of excitement in this context. To select just some of the performers here:



Trumpets: Cootie Wiliams, Johah Jones, Harry James, Ziggy Elman

Saxes: Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Herscel Evans, Chu Berry, Budd Johnson

Clarinet: Buster Bailey, Mezz Mezzrow, Benny Carter

Piano: Jess Stacy, Clyde Hart, Hamp's crazy two finger piano

Drums: Sonny Greer, Cozy Cole, Lionel Hampton (he's great here too)



These tunes are so infectiously upbeat that they appeal not just to jazz or swing fans, but anybody with a pulse (which will be accelerated). Expect to have fun, punctuated by occasional amazement. Like when Cootie Williams, in "Ring Dem Bells" gets off the most hair-raising trumpet solo intro I've ever heard in listening to jazz for 50 years.



My copy was remastered on the Jazz Heritage label, which sounds even better than the Bluebird reissue I've heard. There is an even harder to find Volume II in this series of equal merit. I'm so impressed with these wonderful sides that I'm investing in the Mosaic 5CD set!"