Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, as Joachim E. Berendt explained: "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn". Hawkins biographer John Chilton described the prevalent styles of tenor saxophone solos prior to Hawkins as "mooing" and "rubbery belches". Hawkins cited as influences Happy Caldwell, Stump Evans, and Prince Robinson, although he was the first to tailor his method of improvisation to the saxophone rather than imitate the techniques of the clarinet. Hawkins' virtuosic, arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that included Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas, and through them the later tenormen, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. While Hawkins became known with swing music during the big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s. Fellow saxophonist Lester Young, known as the "President of the Tenor Saxophone", commented, in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review: "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the president, first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads." |
Birth and Death Data: Born November 21, 1904 (St. Joseph), Died May 19, 1969 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, clarinet, baritone saxophone, leader, saxophone, composer, bass saxophone, director, alto saxophone, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 108 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-57064 | 10-in. | 11/5/1929 | Plain dirt | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57065 | 10-in. | 11/5/1929 | Gee, ain't I good to you | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57066 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | I'd love it | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57067 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | The way I feel today | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57068 | 10-in. | 11/6/1929 | Miss Hannah | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57139 | 10-in. | 11/7/1929 | Peggy | McKinney's Cotton Pickers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57140 | 10-in. | 11/7/1929 | Wherever there's a will, baby | McKinney's Cotton Pickers ; Don Redman | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57145 | 10-in. | 11/14/1929 | Hello Lola | Mound City Blue Blowers | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-57146 | 10-in. | 11/14/1929 | One hour | Mound City Blue Blowers | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041408 | 10-in. | 9/11/1939 | Hot mallets | Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BS-042933 | 10-in. | 10/11/1939 | Meet Doctor Foo | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, saxophone, composer | |
Victor | BS-042934 | 10-in. | 10/11/1939 | Fine dinner | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, saxophone, composer | |
Victor | BS-042935 | 10-in. | 10/11/1939 | She's funny that way | Thelma Carpenter ; Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-042936 | 10-in. | 10/11/1939 | Body and soul | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | leader, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-046156 | 10-in. | 1/3/1940 | When day is done | Coleman Hawkins' All-Star Octet | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-046157 | 10-in. | 1/3/1940 | The sheik of Araby | Coleman Hawkins' All-Star Octet | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-046158 | 10-in. | 1/3/1940 | My blue heaven | Coleman Hawkins' All-Star Octet | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-046159 | 10-in. | 1/3/1940 | Bouncing with Bean | Coleman Hawkins' All-Star Octet | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-060331 | 10-in. | 1/16/1941 | Bugle call rag | Metronome All Star Band | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | BS-060332 | 10-in. | 1/16/1941 | One o'clock jump | Metronome All Star Band | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D7VB-2647 | 10-in. | 12/10/1947 | How did she look | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra ; Leslie Scott | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D7VB-2648 | 10-in. | 12/10/1947 | Under a blanket of blue | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra ; Leslie Scott | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D7VB-2649 | 10-in. | 12/10/1947 | Never in a million years | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra ; Leslie Scott | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D7VB-2650 | 10-in. | 12/10/1947 | You were meant for me | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra ; Leslie Scott | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
Victor | D7VB-2659 | 10-in. | 12/11/1947 | April in Paris | Coleman Hawkins Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hawkins, Coleman," accessed November 3, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103427.
Hawkins, Coleman. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103427.
"Hawkins, Coleman." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Coleman Hawkins
Discogs: Coleman Hawkins
Allmusic: Coleman Hawkins
Apple Music: Coleman Hawkins
Grove: Coleman Hawkins
IMDb: Coleman Hawkins
Britannica: Coleman Hawkins
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hawkins, Coleman - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81150284
Wikidata: Coleman Hawkins - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q217812
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/7574109
MusicBrainz: Coleman Hawkins - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5c8cb181-38fe-4300-8153-650b2ed0258f
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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