At the same session Henderson's band recorded a tune by Hawkins, Queer Notions , which explores the whole-tone scale. In February 1944 he led a band that featured Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, and others in what are generally considered to be the first bop recordings. Another session later the same year was the earliest to include Thelonious Monk. By the late 1950s Hawkins's tone had hardened somewhat, and he developed a fierce approach to the blues. He easily accepted the new bossa nova songs, recording some in 1962, but had more difficulty during a session the following year which paired him with Sonny Rollins and Paul Bley, both of whom were exploring ideas related to those of Ornette Coleman.
Young saxophonists continue to find inspiration in Hawkins's recordings.
His influence has endured, even though it was somewhat eclipsed during the 1940s by that of Lester Young and after 1960 by that of John Coltrane - a testament to the intelligence and technical authority of his music. See also Blues, Arranged and big-band jazz . Essays on the Greats of Jazz , ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz 2. Bean The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz 3.