Ignoring past reissues (including a definitive two-CD set from 1995 that had 40 recordings), RCA came out with this 19-selection single CD in 1996; all of the performances were in the previous reissue. If found at a budget price, this CD can act as a fine introduction to the great tenor Coleman Hawkins. Among its high points are two very different versions of "Body and Soul" and classic renditions of "When Day Is Done," "The Sheik of Araby," and the modernistic "Half Step Down, Please," a...   [ read more ]

CD $7.59

'Until the release of Rainbow Mist, this French Vogue album was the most recent issue of the first very bebop sessions, six titles recorded by a 1944 Coleman Hawkins group that included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Woody'n You and Disorder at the Border showed that change was in the air while Hawk's new exploration of the chords of Body and Soul on Rainbow Mist proved he was still growing as a musician. The second half of this album finds the tenor-saxophonist in Paris, playing stomps and ballads while join...   [ read more ]

MP3 $10.49

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Genius may not be the right word, but "brilliance" certainly fits. At the age of 51 in 1957 Hawkins had already been on records for 35 years and had been one of the leading tenors for nearly that long. This CD matches him with the Oscar Peterson Trio (plus drummer Alvin Stoller) for a fine runthrough on standards. Hawk plays quite well, although the excitement level does not reach the heights of his sessions with trumpeter Roy Eldridge. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

CD $14.23