... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Lionel Hampton in two modes – first in a trio with Teddy Wilson on piano and Gene Krupa on drums – then with his larger group that features Eddie Chamblee on tenor! LP, Vinyl record album

A great set from that unique small combo moment in the career of vibist Lionel Hampton – that Verve Records stretch when he stepped away from his big band, and cut a handful of small group records that really let him open up on the vibes! This set's one of the best from that time – and features a quartet with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums – with four long tracks that are nice and long, with lots of great solos on piano and vibes! Titles include "The Nearness Of You", "How High the Moon", and "Just One of Those Things". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Lionel Hampton – quite a change from his Verve material of the 50s, and an unusual sort of date for the Audio Fidelity label! As the title implies, Hampton not only plays his usual vibes, but a bit of drums and piano as well – and he's working in a cool smaller group that features some especially nice work from Bobby Plater on flute, alto, tenor, and clarinet – a player we don't know at all, but who turns in some especially sensitive tones here that really help bring some depth to the set, and push it away from common Hampton cliches. Lionel sings a bit on the record – although not much – and other players include Billy Mackel on guitar, Oscar Dennard on piano, Julius Brown on bass, and GT Hogan on drums. Titles include "The Man I Love", "Lazy Thoughts", "Just One Of Those Things", "Blues For Stephen", "Stardust", and "Tracking Problem". LP, Vinyl record album

A great CD that combines 2 Verve albums by Hamp – both in the mode of his excellent early 50s side! Unlike earlier work, Hamp here plays in a small group setting – working with Buddy Rich, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Buddy De Franco, carving out long tracks that have a heck of a lot of room for soloing, and which are handled in an open-ended mode that's much more like the Verve Jam Session style than some of the other sets on the label at the time. Two of the tracks stretch over 10 minutes long, and others are all pretty nicely timed too – leaving Hamp and the others with plenty of room for solos! Titles include "These Foolish Things", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Je Ne Se Pas", "Sunny Side Of The Street", and a very long version of "Flying Home". CD

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... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The Lionel Hampton orchestra in all of its glory – a group that's not only one of the most top-shelf large ensembles of its time, but also a key incubator for jazz talent in years to come! The presentation here is amazing – at one level the group can romp with all the R&B-styled touches that Hamp helped forge in the 40s – but at another, they sparkle with fantastic elements of new trends in modern jazz – yet while staying wonderfully soulful. The lineup here will give you a great flavor of these qualities – filled with future giants that include Art Farmer and Clifford Brown on trumpets, Jimmy Cleveland and Benny Powell on trombones, Quincy Jones on piano, Monk Montgomery on bass, and a sax lineup that includes Gigi Gryce, Clifford Scott, and Anthony Ortega. Sonny Parker sings just a bit – and titles on this second volume include "Gryce Suite", "Kingfish/Drinking Wine", "Setting The Pace/Flying Home", "Curley", and "Jazz Group". CD

A great little set of instrumental tracks from Lionel Hampton – almost more soul than jazz, and set to some hipper than usual Brunswick Records arrangements – by the likes of Eugene Record, Willie Henderson, Sonny Sanders, and Hamilton Bohannon! The setting is a great showcase for Hamp's vibes – which always had plenty of punch, even back in the swing generation – and turn out to be an excellent fit for later 70s soul styles too. Bohannon turns out the best track on the album – the slow funky sample cut "Happiness", which steps along at half pace, and sounds like one of the killers from his own Stop & Go album! Other tracks are all pretty great, too – and titles include "Without You In My Life", "I Never Had It So Good", "There It Is", "Wrapped Up In Your Warm & Tender Love", and "Sing A Little Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album that's one of Getz's strongest from the period! The format for the album is in the mode of Hampton's early 50s Verve sides – long tracks, very open-ended, cut in a small group format that shows a different side than his more popular big band grooving. There's only 5 tracks on the album – and the focus is on solo work by Hamp and Getz, with rhythm by Lou Levy, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne. Titles include "Louise", "Jumpin At The Woodside", "Gladys", and a long ballad medley. Nice David Stone Martin cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Nice, tight, simple, and swinging! All players are hitting a good later stride here, set in unrestricted small group company on the occasion of the film release of the Benny Goodman story. Verve was able to get the players to go past the stock stuff they did for the film, and recreate some of the magic of the older smaller group live sets. Titles include "Airmail Special", "Avalon", "I Got Rhythm", and "Blues For Benny". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the standout gems from Lionel Hampton's 50s sessions for Verve – wonderful small combo recordings that let Hamp stretch out in freer solo space than usual! Although the Hampton fame always lay in his popularly-touring bigger band, and all its related pyrotechnics, we've always loved Lionel's sound in a more intimate setting – and the way his ringing tone on the vibes prefaces work to come in later years by Bobby Hutcherson, Steve Nelson, and others – bold, soulful, and surprisingly modern at times. There's a metallic quality to the solo work on these sides that we really like a lot – and which offers a nice contrast to Milt Jackson's vibes of the period through its more powerfully pronounced understanding of the instrument's tone. The core group is a quartet – with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums – and half the set features the clarinet of Buddy DeFranco. All tracks are nice and long – almost jam-session style – and titles include "Soft Winds", "Airmail Special", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "It's Only A Paper Moon". CD

A pretty great album from Lionel Hampton – recorded in Paris in jam session mode, with work by great French players like Rene Urtreger, Sacha Distel, and Guy Pederson, plus American players like Benny Bailey and Nat Adderley. Titles include "A La French", "Crazy Rhythm", "Night & Day", and "Red Ribbon". Nicely jamming – like Hamp's great sessions for Verve! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The birth of modern jazz guitar – seminal sides recorded by Charlie Christian, working in small group format with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, and even a bit of Basie. Christian's tone on the instrument is fantastic – and even though the style of the tracks is more in the swing era mode, there's a direct line between his playing and later work by Grant Green and other 60s jazz guitar giants. Titles include "Six Appeal", "Gilly", "Waiting For Benny", "Seven Come Eleven", "Airmail Special", "Breakfast Feud", and "Wholly Cats". LP, Vinyl record album

We don't know if we'd stretch so far as to use the word "exciting" to talk about Terry's work – but his band here is filled with some great west coast players – including Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca, Mel Lewis, Frank Rosolino, and Joe Maini – all coming together with a bit more of a kick than usual. Terry's vibes are right out front in the mix, almost doing a mainstream Lionel Hampton kind of thing – on short tracks that include "Summit Blues", "Limerick Waltz", "None Cone", "Ja Da", and "T & S". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes a large group with Stan Getz on tenor, plus a trio set, and a quartet date with Lionel Hampton on vibes. LP, Vinyl record album

Benny Goodman's famous 1938 live date at Carnegie Hall – with work from Teddy Wilson and Count Basie on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Johnny Hodges on alto, Cootie Williams and Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Lester Young on tenor – plus Gene Krupa on drums, on his famous reading of "Sing Sing Sing". LP, Vinyl record album

50s modern jazz at its best – served up in a set of rare 1953 recordings by a young Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce! The tracks on the set easily rival the greatness of both Farmer and Gryce's key sides for Prestige during the period – recorded with a freshness that still holds up strongly even 50 years later, and which represents some of the best larger group work of the post-swing generation! Quincy Jones had a hand in some of the work, as he, Gryce, and Farmer were all playing together with Lionel Hampton at the time – and the tunes on the set have a style that's as swingingly soulful as it is modern. 7 of the tracks were recorded under the name of the Gigi Gryce Orchestra, and 3 others under Art Farmer's New Jazz Stars – but the work has a very unified feel, with shared players that include Jimmy Cleveland, Anthony Ortega, Clifford Solomon, Henri Renaud, and Quincy Jones. Titles include "Serenade To Sonny", "Evening In Paris", "Purple Shades", "Paris The Beautiful", "La Rose Noire", "Anne Marie", and "Strike Up The Band". CD features a few alternate takes. CD

An early Norm Granz production, before they were issued under the JATP moniker, though basically the same idea. In fact, this set would later get repackaged as a JATP side. As you'd expect, it's an all star cast, with a group that includes Flip Phillips, Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson and Buddy Rich. Side one is a blowing session entitled "Jam Blues" and side two is the "Ballad Medley" stringing together bits of "Tenderly", "I've Got The World On A String", "What's New", "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good","Don't Blame Me", "Imagination", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Body & Soul" and "She's Funny That Way". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unique packages we've ever seen from the mighty Mosaic Records – not a set that focuses on a specific artist or record label – but instead a treasure trove of freshly-unearthed material from the archives of Bill Savory – a legendary sound engineer whose work for Columbia Records helped transform our understanding of classic jazz! The sides here aren't Bill's work for that label – but instead feature recordings he made of rare broadcast performances – material that's surprisingly well-recorded, given Savory's skills with the technology of the times – which means that these tracks are way more than the kind of fuzzy radio tapes that used to show up on older jazz bootleg albums. Mosaic did a great job of restoring these materials, and presenting them with wonderful clarity – in a succession of late 30s performances that feature rare work by Count Basie, Albert Ammons, Mildred Bailey, Teddy Wilson, Glenn Miller, John Kirby, Carl Cress, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller, Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, Jack Teagarden, and other giants of the swing generation. There's 108 tracks in all – including a few surprisingly long performances – and the whole thing comes with the usual hefty Mosaic Records package of notes and photos! CD

Benny Goodman's famous 1938 live date at Carnegie Hall – with work from Teddy Wilson and Count Basie on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Johnny Hodges on alto, Cootie Williams and Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Lester Young on tenor – plus Gene Krupa on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Drummer Oliver Jackson had a hell of a lot of experience in his few decades in jazz – big band work with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton, cooler combo work with Yusef Lateef, and his own great group with tenorist Budd Johnson – all pages of his past that he seems to bring to this swinging trio set! The group features Cliff Smalls on piano and Leonard Gaskin on bass, and the players seem very open to moving between bop and swing with ease – and always bringing a bit of themselves to the proceedings too, especially Smalls, who might sound better here than we remember on other records. The album definitely skews more trad than modern, but in the best possible way – and titles include "OJ Tune", "Love For Sale", "Opus One", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", and "Blues After Hours". CD features two bonus tracks with another trio that has Gerry Wiggins on piano – "Jackson Is Wigging" and "Bill Is Bleeding". CD

A very different Christmas collection than usual – as this set features mostly pre-war blues with a very gritty feel – and not the usual Holiday warmth you might know from more famous records! Much of this material was originally issued on 78rpm discs, and has this gritty vibe that reminds us that although some folks are snug and warm on December 25th, there's other folks out there who aren't having such a great time – stories spun out here that involve lost love, isolation, and incarceration! As the swing years move in, a few tracks get a bit jazzy – but often still have strongly blue undercurrents. The package is a double-length set – with 42 tracks in all – titles that include "No Christmas Blues" by Marry Harris, "Santa Claus Blues" by Peetie Wheatstraw, "Christmas Song" by Leadbelly, "Gin For Christmas" by Lionel Hampton, "Santa Claus Bring Me A New Woman" by Bumblebee Slim, "Santa Claus Crave"b y Elzadie Robinson, "Christmas In Jail" by Leroy Carr, "Santa Claus Blues" by Eva Taylor, "Christmas Christmas Blues" by Charlie Jordan, "New Santa Claus" by Walter Davis – and lots lots more! CD

The ghost of Christmas past comes back to haunt us – but in the grooviest way possible, thanks to a fab selection of old school Holiday tunes from the folks at Bear Family! The music here is mostly from the 40s and 50s – and is mostly vocal overall, sung by artists who move through jazz, R&B, and pop vocal styles – often putting an extra sort of punch in a Christmas tune, with the kind of upbeat, optimistic quality that was often the best part of mainstream postwar music! There's few folks we'd trust more than Bear Family for a collection like this – and they do a great job – with titles that include "Here Comes Santa Claus" by The Mills Brothers, "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" by Lionel Hampton with Sonny Parker, "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" by Ralph Martierie, "The Christmas Spell" by Peggy Lee, "Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney" by Ella Fitzgerald, "I Need A Man For Xmas" by Thelma Cooper, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Johnny Mercer, "The Man With The Bag" by Kay Starr, and "Cool Yule" by Louis Armstrong. LP, Vinyl record album

The ghost of Christmas past comes back to haunt us – but in the grooviest way possible, thanks to a fab selection of old school Holiday tunes from the folks at Bear Family! The music here is mostly from the 40s and 50s – and is mostly vocal overall, sung by artists who move through jazz, R&B, and pop vocal styles – often putting an extra sort of punch in a Christmas tune, with the kind of upbeat, optimistic quality that was often the best part of mainstream postwar music! There's few folks we'd trust more than Bear Family for a collection like this – and they do a great job, serving up 27 classic tunes that include "Merry Christmas Baby" by Lionel Hampton, "Here Comes Santa Claus" by The Mills Brothers, "Christmas Island" by The Andrews Sisters, "I Need A Man For Xmas" by Thelma Cooper, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "The Christmas Spell" by Peggy Lee, "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" by Ralph Marterie, "Frosty The Snowman" by Perry Como, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by The Ames Brothers, "Let It Snow" by Les Brown, "The Man With The Bag" by Kay Starr, "Swingin Them Jingle Bells" by Fats Waller, "Christmas Boogie" by Sugar Chile Robinson, and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Johnny Mercer. CD

Sometimes swinging, sometimes a bit more mellow, but a really great collection overall – one that's filled with plenty of great holiday gems from years back – all put together with the same great feel as other titles in the Jazzclub series! Some of the tracks are familiar, but others are nicely obscure – and the package is a nice antidote to some of the overdone holiday collections you'll find on the market – proof that there's still some great Christmas tunes out there, just so long as you know where to look! Titles include "You're All I Want For Christmas" by Brook Benton, "A Christmas Toast" by Bing Crosby, "Blue Christmas" by Billy Eckstine, "Christmas Waltz" by Joe Williams, "Let It Snow" by Les Brown, "Swingle Jingle" by Lionel Hampton, "Ring Those Christmas Bells" by Peggy Lee, "Blue Christmas" by Billy Eckstine, "Sleigh Ride" by Jack Jones, "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Wayne Newton, "Frosty The Snowman" by Roy Hargrove & Christian McBride, and "White Christmas" by Jimmy Smith. CD

The sound of jazz is always the sound of Christmas in our house – as there's a certain sort of vibe that the music seems to bring to the holiday – where the warmth and personal energy of a jazz performance can really open up a Christmas tune! This set is a great illustration of that quality – as it brings together a wonderful array of Holiday jazz performances – many from the 60s, at a time when the blend of jazz and Christmas was really hitting its heights – plus a few well-chosen numbers from later years, including some Blue Note recordings mixed in with Verve numbers. Titles include "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Ramsey Lewis, "The Little Drummer Boy" by Kenny Burrell, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Tom Scott, "Frosty The Snowman" by Roy Hargrove & Christmas McBride, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Jimmy Smith, "Let It Snow" by Nelson Rangell, "I'll Be Home For Christmas/Sleigh Ride" by Eliane Elias, "Greensleeves" by John Coltrane, "Those Soulful Jingle Bells" by Mark Whitfield, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bill Evans, "Silver Bells" by Kevin Eubanks, "Swingle Jingle" by Lionel Hampton, and a previously unreleased track – "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" by Oscar Peterson. CD

A really great overview of the V-Discs label of the 40s – the imprint started by the US Army as a way of circulating the jazz and swing sounds of the time to soldiers overseas! As you'd guess from the dates, the label was started during the American involvement in WWII – but then continued as a key part of its work in rebuilding the European scene of the postwar years – almost as a musical extension of the work of the State Department! Yet despite that governmental tie-in, the music here is all pretty darn great on its own – and given that most V-Discs titles were not available for commercial sale, they also represent a unique slice of the 78rpm market of the time. The 4CD set features detailed notes in French and English, 92 tracks in all, and some songs even include messages from the artists too – with work by Don Redman, Jo Stafford, Louis Prima, Duke Ellington, Earl Robinson, Frank Sinatra, Carson Robinson, Carmen Miranda, Frankie Carle, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Glen Gray, Les Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Randy Brooks, Kay Starr, Buddy Rich, Charlie Barnet, Spike Jones, Bob Crosby, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, Harry James, and many more! CD