A sharp Verve album from the 50s – featuring key selections from some of the larger ensembles on the label! LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of live recordings by Hampton's big band – includes "Glad Hamp" and "Meet Ben Bailey" at Newport Jazz Festival in 1965 with Frank Foster and Joe Newman on solos; "Blues For Gerty" and "Flyin' Home" at the Metropole in New York in 1961; and "Vibe Boogie" and "Sakura" in Japan from 1962. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Flying Home", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" with Jimmie Scott, "Blow-Top Blues" with Dinah Washington, "Gone Again" with Wini Brown, "Red Top", "New Central Avenue Breakdown" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

With Wild Bill Davis on organ and piano, Joe Newman and Victor Paz on trumpet, Paul Moen on tenor, Eddie Chamblee on alto and tenor, Billy Mackel on guitar, Barry Smith on bass, and Frankie Dunlop on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

With Elvin Jones, Osie Johnson, George Duvivier, John Mackel, Clifton Best, and Tommy Flanagan. Titles include "Skylark", "What's New", "Til You Return", "Blue Moon", "For Better Or Worse" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Great early recordings from the Hampton band – the stuff that made him a legend! LP, Vinyl record album

A great revival moment for some older jazz giants – all players who really catch fire here in the MPS scene of the 70s! The record features the vibes of Lionel Hampton in the lead (and, if the cover is to be believed, also a bit of drums) – and also includes excellent work from Milt Buckner on Hammond (one of his last sessions ever) – plus especially strong work from Cat Anderson on trumpet and Eddie Chamblee on tenor – both players who really get to step out here a bit at times, and remind us what they can do when they really get a chance to wail! Other players in the small group include Billy Mackel on guitar and Paul Moen on alto – and titles include "Midnight Sun", "Avalon", "Funky Mama", and "I'm Confessin" – plus the obligatory jam on "Flying Home". CD

A mixed bag of work from Buddy and Hamp – part straight jazz, and part sweet electric funk! The first two-thirds of the album features Rich and Hampton with Terry Wilson on piano, Zoot Sims on tenor, and George Duvivier on bass – grooving hard in that open-ended way of some of Hampton's small group dates for Verve from the early 50s, on titles that include "Avalon", "Ring Dem Bells", "Ham Hock Blues", and "Air Mail Special". The last third of the album features a larger group – still with Rich and Hampton, but also with some keyboards from Kenny Barron, plus tenor by Sal Nistico and guitar from Jack Wilson. The vibe on these tracks is a bit more 70s-styled – with some of the soaring electric modes you might expect from Groove Merchant! Titles include "EG" and "Fum" – both great funky numbers! LP, Vinyl record album

Lionel Hampton with a very hip group – featuring Eddie Pazant on tenor, Virgil Jones on trumpet, Roland Hanna on piano, and Calvin Newborn on guitar! LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Flying Home No 1", "In The Bag", "Loose Wig", "Air Mail Special", "Red Top", "Cobb's Idea", "Midnight Suns", "Playboy", " Beulah's Sister's Boogie", and "Slide Hamp Slide" – 15 tracks total. CD

Notable sidemen include Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Morton, Bud Freeman, Fletcher Henderson, and Albert Ammons. CD

An early leader session for Jimmy Cleveland – one that pulls him out of the Lionel Hampton group, and puts him in the company of a number of different all-stars – top level players that Mercury brought together in three different sessions for the album. Players include Lucky Thompson, Cecil Payne, Barry Galbraith, Wade Legge, Paul Chambers, and Jerome Richardson – and it's the quality of the ensemble grooving that really makes the album swing, a lot more than Cleveland's solos on his own. Titles include "Vixen", "Hear Ye Hear Ye", "See Minor", "Bone Brother", "Count 'Em", and "Little Beaver". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work with Luck Millinder, Johnnie Otis, Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea, Lionel Hampton, and Johnnie Alston – 24 tracks total. CD

Notable sidemen include Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Lester Young, and Lionel Hampton – plus vocals by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra! CD

The friend implied in the title included Mel Torme, June Christy, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich and others! CD

With Lionel Hampton, Harry Edison, Buddy Rich, Red Callender, and Barney Kessel. CD

Maybe not the complete roots of African funk, but a set that does a great job of bringing together a range of different cuts that show the new sounds and styles that were really hitting the scene as the 70s moved in – work from a wide variety of sources, but which all seems to share a sound and spirit with some of the newly independent African nations! There's a few African funk cuts in the mix, but the more interesting ones are almost those from the Anglo world that show a similar sense of groove, but with a slightly different vibe – coming across here on cuts that include "Waterbed (inst)" by LTD Exchange, "African Queen" by Allez Allez, "Them Changes" by Lionel Hampton, "Sangandongo" by Niagara, "Wassahoumba" by Africa Djole, "Do The Choo Choo" by Jack Ashford, "Africa Gone Funky" by Screaming Jay Hawkins, "Super Kumba" by Manu Dibango, "Tite Rope" by Harold Alexander, "Fat City Strut" by Mandrill, and "Corey Died On The Battlefield" by Wild Magnolias. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Joe Turner, Gerry Mulligan, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Foster, Roy Eldridge, Thelonious Monk, Lucky Thompson, Dizzy Gillespie, Zoots Sims, and more. CD

Includes tracks from Zhane, Norman Connors, Herbie Hancock, Herb Alpert, Wayman Tisdale, Lionel Hampton, Norman Brown, Najee, and others. CD

A nice little collection of Chicago soul – featuring mostly Carl Davis-produced tracks from the Brunswick and Chi-Sound labels, stretching back to the late 60s, and running up until the end of the 70s. There's a good mix of styles on here – but the work is all strongly linked by Davis' high level of quality in the studio, and by his willingness to keep a nice groove in a track, no matter what the pace. Titles include "There It Is" by Lionel Hampton, "Oh Boy" by Dana Valery, "It's Cool" by Walter Jackson, "Lady Lady Lady" by Barbara Acklin, "Wrapped, Tied, & Tangled" by Lavern Baker, "Especially For You" by Manchild, "Come To My Party" by The Impressions, "The Girl Turned Me On" by Jackie Wilson, "Windy City Theme" by Windy City Orchestra, and "Love Uprising" by Otis Leavill. CD

An amazing set throughout – not just for the musical growth of Coleman Hawkins, but also for the development of the tenor sax in jazz, too! These sides could very well be said to be THE seminal recordings for tenor – the records that helped transform the instrument from a bit of a trick noisemaker into one of the most dominant voices in jazz during the 20th century – the beginning of a rich legacy that went onto encompass Lester Young, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, and so many others! The package captures Coleman Hawkins right at the start of his career – with vital early 78rpm recordings that move from trad to swing to some of the modern combo sounds that Hawkins would blow in the postwar years. And the range of settings is amazing, too – not a loose collection or mish-mash of material, but a really thoughtful progression that has Hawkins working with Mamie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams, The Chocolate Dandies, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers in the early years – then moving up to work as a leader on his own – as well as material with Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, and Count Basie. Most of the later material is for small labels – like Baronet, Cont, Meritt, Neatwork, and others – and the early sides are for Okeh, Columbia, Vocalion, Brunswick, and other smaller imprints. Features 190 tracks in all, and very copious notes, too – an amazing package from Mosaic! CD

Wqith Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Christian, Count Basie, and Cootie Williams. CD

Benny Goodman on clarinet, Gene Krupa on drums, Teddy Wilson on piano & Lionel Hampton on vibraphone. CD