Search - Lionel Hampton :: Stardust

Astro Jam: Stellar Session

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 12/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why is this an essential recording? Let me count the ways. Here are three:



1. Musicians and critics sometimes argue about which "classic" jazz interpretation of "Stardust" is the most definitive--Louis Armstrong's, Artie Shaw's, Paul Desmond's. Play this version by Lionel Hampton and you'll see why Hamp is to "Stardust" what Coleman Hawkins is to "Body and Soul."



2. If Hampton is one of a handful of quintessential swing-era musicians, there's no better representation of his musical virtuosity and showmanship. As masterful as all of the other musicians are on this occasion, Hamp solos last and practically erases the memory of the preceding solos.



3. This is a "jam session" made in heaven. The musicians are "competitive," to be sure, but it's not just another Norman Granz musical circus. (Has anyone, before or since, even considered using "Stardust" as a jam session vehicle?) Each of the soloists on the tune--in particular Charlie Shavers and Slam Stewart--creates a different mood and unique tonal identity. In fact, I've used this recording to introduce jazz and instrumental music to listeners for whom the term "voice" is alien to anything but human vocal production.



This music could not have been created in a studio. Nor is it likely that these same musicians could have enjoyed the same chemistry and achieved the same heights on another "live" occasion. Look for the less expensive 1999 domestic edition first, but in this instance even the pricey import is probably worth the premium."

Breakthrough

Mike | Medford, OR | 02/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me, a high-school student, a research project is a nightmare. But when it was to reasearch a jazz musician named Lionel Hampton, (a relative unknown name to me at the time of the project proposal) I became a little bit more excited. A dude whom I'd never heard of was the first person EVER to play or record jazz on the vibraphone! This album displays his domination over all other players in the spectrum."

All the Stars in the Universe

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 12/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How ominous that this date, once regarded with the ultimate reverence, cannot remain in print. Fortunately, I have the 1947 live concert on LP and introduce students to jazz through it in my Jazz Appreciation course. No recording more convincingly demonstrates to young people brought up on music produced by guitar-based vocalists that an individual can express his or her unique identity on an instrument, be it tenor/alto sax, trumpet, acoustic bass, or vibes. Although not all of these players are, or ever were, considered "all-stars," each creates a unique musical persona during his solo. The highlights are Charlie Shavers, Willie Smith, Slam Stewart, and of course Hamp. In many respects, this music is the very essence of jazz and of the American Dream--colorful, individualistic, romantic, heroic, uncompromisingly beautiful. And it demonstrates, moreover, that from such individual diversity emanates the grandest of collective results. This is the quintessential jam session (and, of all tunes, "Stardust"--not the easiest of chord progressions, especially when played in Db), and it could have happened only at this particular time and place.



Look for it, being prepared to settle for a used LP."