Big Swing Thing: Show Notes 6/24-28

A Hamp for All Seasons

I guess anything goes when you're promoting an artist. Just this past week, I was putting a Lionel Hampton album on the hard drive when I decided to peruse the LP's liner notes while listening to it roll. The unnamed author described the process of song selection for the project, a 1958 Harmony label package entitled Hamp in Hi Fi. In this description, he makes the assertion that Hamp did not know how to read music, so certain steps had to be taken to help him get familiar with the tunes.

I would have to throw the bulls--t card on that one. Lionel Hampton was a highly-educated professional musician, not some seat-of-the-pants mallet whacker who just seemed to get incredibly lucky time after time after time. His musical education began at a private prep school for boys in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and continued in Chicago, where he received advanced musical training as a member of the Chicago Defender newsboys' band, in which he played trumpet, drums, flute and orchestra bells. He received a degree in music (not the honorary kind) from USC in Los Angeles in 1935. It would be extremely unlikely that the University of Southern California would award a sheepskin in music to someone who could not read music. But hey, it makes a good story, right?

So great was Hamp's talent, Benny Goodman gave him an extremely liberal contract when he hired Lionel in 1936. Uncharacteristically, Goodman agreed to allow Hamp to record and perform, independent of Benny's direction, with his own groups. In contrast, Harry James was not allowed to blow a note that was not directed by Benny. 

Hampton took full advantage of this freedom, assembling "orchestras" under his own name for concerts and record dates starting almost immediately after he came on board with Goodman. Hamp's enormous talent and inclusive leadership style brought out some of the biggest names in jazz to play in his groups. It was very common for the Hampton recording groups to contain top sidemen from many of the biggest name bands of the day. On one notable date, Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry and Ben Webster were all in the reed section, and all three played solos. 

For me, this is what makes the Lionel Hampton sessions of the 1930s and 40s so exciting. We get to hear some of the top jazzmen of the Big Band Era, all relaxed and swinging freely, feeding one another, taking their cues from Hamp. Often, we hear musicians who would never have played together otherwise. 

And we shall hear a stout representative sample of these records on this week's In the Mood. The World's Greatest Record Library is blessed with a plentiful selection of these gems, and we will open Hour 1 with about 20 minutes of Lionel Hampton's best.

Hour 2 kicks off this week with a fine array of swinging sides from the great band of Charlie Barnet. On full display will be Charlie's unapologetic admiration for Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Although less-swinging white bands were making more money, the Ellington and Basie bands were universally held by musicians in the highest esteem. Charlie's band went so far as to imitate them openly, with Charlie playing in the image of Johnny Hodges, and Bill Miller emulating the Duke and the Count on piano. We'll spin some of the best examples, including The Duke's Idea, The Count's Idea and The Right Idea. You will be surprised and delighted by this swinging segment.  

In addition to these special features focusing on Lionel Hampton and Charlie Barnet, we'll bring you a superb set of swinging singles from some of the best Big Bands of the Era, such as Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Willie Bryant, Bert Kaempfert and many more. We'll even  take 6 or 7 minutes to appreciate the magnificent version of No Name Jive recorded for Capitol by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma reunion band in 1956.

Once again, let me remind you to call a young player or band student and invite them to listen to the show with you. They need to hear this music! They need to know how delightfully exuberant Big Band music can be...and there are no finer examples than those you will find on this show.

Thanks again for sticking it out to the Bitter End with me on this week's blog! I sincerely hope you enjoy this week's show. Be kind to one another this week, and above all...Keep Swinging! 

Scott