Retrospective
Coleman Hawkins's 1939 recording of "Body and Soul" is one of the creative landmarks of jazz history, a brilliant exposition of the song's harmonic possibilities conducted with a stunning nobility. It makes a fine centerpiece for this two-CD compilation of jazz's first great tenor saxophonist. This set really is "A Self Portrait of the Bean," as Ellington once entitled a composition. It ranges from Hawkins's dates as a sideman with such early groups as the Mound City Blues Blowers and McKinney's Cotton Pickers to encounters in the 1960s: with the vocal group Lambert, Hendricks and Bevan; singing "Watermelon Man"; and with Sonny Rollins. In between are masterful sessions with small groups and large that demonstrate Hawkins's ability to evolve as jazz did, without ever giving up his declamatory and highly personal style. His accomplices are a who's who of the best jazz musicians, including such prematurely departed legends as Charlie Christian, Fats Navarro, and the wonderful, if obscure, clarinetist Danny Polo. Highlights include several superb tributes to Paris, on two of which Hawkins single-handedly saves fine tunes from excessive arrangements, and two wonderful tracks from a 1957 Red Allen session on which Hawkins and the trumpeter match one another's exalted artistry.--Stuart Broomer