LIONEL HAMPTON

The world of Jazz boasts some really interesting instruments.  And our discovery of Lionel Hampton introduces us to the vibraphone, better known as “vibes” in Jazz parlance.  A vibraphoneis a xylophone-like instrument consisting of a double row of horizontal metal bars laid over vertical tubes which resonate due to motor-driven rotating vanes.  Of course the motor is silent, but the rotation of the vanes produces a “vibrato” effect characteristic of the vibes.  Sounds complicated, but it is really a fairly simple principle.  The African and Meso-american version is no doubt the marimba, also a beautiful instrument, with wooden bars set over gourds or tubes.  Jazz vibists love to play the marimba as well for its unique, woody tone, and in this part of the world we are quite familiar with the marimba and its special sound.

Mallets with a head of rubber or wound with yarn are used to strike the instrument.  I have had the experience of seeing vibes player Steve Nelson playing the vibes so intensely that the yarn on his mallets was all but flying off.  Some essential names in vibes are Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, Teddy Charles, Terry Gibbs, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton, Dave Samuels, Bobby Hutcherson and Stefon Harris.  But the guy who started it all for the vibes is Lionel Hampton, affectionately known as the Father of the Vibes.  “Hamp,” as he came to be called, brought the vibraphone to prominence in Jazz, with its unique, ringing sound, and the Gitler/Feather Encyclopedia relates that Hamp was known for his “onstage charm, strong leadership and unfailing sense of swing.”

Born in April 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky, Lionel Leo Hampton was raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois.  A Catholic nun taught him the rudiments of drumming, and he also learned the timpani (kettledrums) and marimba as a boy.  His innate percussion skills and flawless ear made it not difficult for him to pick up the vibes.  He started his recording career playing the drums, but in 1930 when Louis Armstrong came to California, where he was living by then, Armstrong requested that he play the vibes.  Hamp never switched to other instruments again, although he did play the piano and sing occasionally, and thus began a career spanning close to seventy years.  He married in 1936, his wife Gladys being his business manager throughout the years.  She was to develop a well-earned reputation as an excellent businesswoman!

Also in 1936, famous clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman saw Hamp playing the vibes.  Immediately Hamp was hired to back Billie Holiday in the Goodman Orchestra.  As well, Goodman was so impressed that he asked Hamp to join his trio, with Teddy Wilson on piano and Gene Krupa on drums.  This quartet was among the first racially integrated Jazz groups, with two black musicians and two white.  They were also a leading small group in the swing era of mostly big bands.  Hamp always spoke of his recognition of Goodman for helping to tear down the color barrier in music and other endeavors.

By 1937 the RCA company offered rising star Hamp the opportunity to record in New York with whomever he chose.  Over 45 records were made, many with other big Jazz musicians of the time.  Then in 1940, under amicable circumstances, Hamp left the Benny Goodman Orchestra to form his own outfit.  By this time too Hamp was creating the kind of excitement that the Jazz world had seldom seen before.  He was the consummate showman as well as a strict mentor to many upcoming Jazz musicians such as Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon,  Dinah  Washington, Clark Terry, Johnny Griffin, Joe Williams, Quincy Jones and Betty Carter.  Trumpeter Clifford Brown once had to flee down a fire escape after Hamp posted a lookout in the lobby of a Paris hotel to prevent his sidemen from sneaking out to recording studios.

Hamp's huge hit “Flying Home” was released in 1942, clearly establishing the formula that was to remain a hallmark of Hamp's band – high energy, crisp vibes and brass, and driving swing and rhythm for maximum excitement, with the leader, mouth always open, hamming it up and keeping the energy going.  Many people wondered where he got all that energy.  And as a matter of fact, by the 1980's Hamp's band had become one of the longest established orchestras in Jazz history.  The band's adaptability to new styles ensured its longevity.  By the 1960's Hamp was having the band play rhythm and blues and popular music with a Jazz flair.

In the 1960's and 70's Hamp also continued recording with many of the best Jazz musicians in small groups as well with old bandmate Benny Goodman and others in reunions from time to time.  And by the 1990's he also led a group known as the Golden Men of Jazz, which included Harry “Sweets” Edison, Al Grey, James Moody and Benny Golson, among others.  

Hamp became very famous when the University of Idaho renamed its Jazz festival for him in 1985 and also named its school of music after him.  He had of course always stressed the importance of music education.   The Lionel Hampton Center at the university is dedicated to providing a home for Jazz and various Jazz collections in order to preserve the Jazz heritage. 

Along with Gladys he also did his bit to give back to the community by forming the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation to build low income housing in Harlem and Newark, New Jersey.   Interestingly too, Hamp was a staunch Republican who campaigned for Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush.  By the time of his death in August 2002 he was at the top of the Jazz world as a highly respected senior Jazzman with more than fifteen honorary doctorates from universities in the United States and abroad.  And there is even a Jazz club in Paris, France named for Lionel Hampton.  His artistic achievements and his profound influence on Jazz cannot be overestimated.

I love the crisp, clear, tinkly sound of Hamp's vibes.  His storied career produced hundreds of fine recordings, a snapshot of which I can provide from my collection.  I begin with a recording by guitarist Charlie Christian as leader that featured Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Fletcher Henderson and Count Basie on piano, Artie Bernstein on bass and Nick Fatool on drums.  The selections “Seven Come Eleven,” an early version of the mega-hit “Flying Home,” and “Gone With The Wind” are superb small group Jazz.  They sound new and fresh despite being recorded in 1939, and you can hear that Hamp has already established quite a vocabulary for the vibes, stating the melody, taking solos and supporting the group sound, while swinging like mad the whole time.

Within the Benny Goodman Orchestra Hamp also excels on two pieces from a compilation of Goodman's big hits from the late 1930's and early 1940's.  Hamp steps to the fore on the famous “Stompin' At The Savoy,” which recalls the Savoy Ballroom in New York City, scene of the famous cutting contests among the big bands of the time.  He can also be heard upfront on “Avalon,” a selection that is redolent of the big band sounds of the swing era.  When I listen to Hamp playing in the Goodman Orchestra it seems natural that it would not be long before he would be heading his own group.

On LP I enjoy “Hamp's Golden Favorites.”  And how could this recording not begin with “Flying Home,” all the more popular because of its wartime theme that the troops relished.  Now a standard, “Flying Home” was composed by Hamp and Goodman.  After the horns state an exciting first line, Hamp chimes in with the vibes before Goodman joins in on clarinet.  It is a quintessential swing era favorite, with lots of brass and danceable feeling.  “Everybody's Somebody's Fool” features Jimmy Scott on vocals, while on “Blow-Top Blues” Dinah Washington does the honors.  Hamp gives great support as well as setting the pace with his vibes.  “How High The Moon” also finds Hamp striking out a delicate melody line on this well-known standard, before taking some improvised choruses.  Finally, the Hamp compositions “Hamp's Boogie Woogie” and “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop” show his playful, showboating style.  As the liner note proclaims “Here, in a setting of his all-time favorites, is the fabulous sound of Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra.” 

And not to be outdone is the LP “Good Vibes,” done by Hamp and his band in 1979 and produced on the CBS Label.  The selections are longer and more funky from this late 70's outing. “Psychedelic Sally” and “Killer Joe” are proof that the band members and style could evolve, but Hamp was right there leading and swinging on his vibraphone, proving that the instrument was versatile enough to fit into any setting.  On “Lion's Den” Hamp's mallets are striking the metal like crazy.  I marvel that at no time does Hamp lose his way, despite the rapid-fire pace.

A very nice small group effort from 1988 is Hamp's “Mostly Blues,” produced by the Jazz Heritage Society.  Bobby Scott is on piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Grady Tate on drums.  Vincent Pelote, who reviews the album, states: “It would be a mistake to relegate Lionel Hampton to the past.  By continually surrounding himself with younger musicians, this hip octogenarian refuses to be labelled a relic. His stellar accompanists provide a fascinating contemporary backdrop for Hampton's ever-stimulating solo flights.”  I particularly enjoy “Bye Bye Blues,” “Walkin' Uptown” and “Limehouse Blues.”  Hamp can pull out chorus after chorus of improvisation, as the boys lay the foundation and keep the swing going.  This is a really lovely set.

Finally, I am fortunate to have the recording of Hamp's 50th Anniversary Concert at Carnegie Hall.  He has an all-star lineup with him, and as they say, a good time was being had by all.  Besides the famous pieces  (“Flying Home,”  “Stompin,'  “Avalon,”  “.... Boogie Woogie”) Hamp and his friends render fine versions of  “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “Misty,” and “More Than You Know.”  Exquisite also is former bandmate Teddy Wilson's “Tea For Two,” a number on which Hamp sits out and allows Wilson's piano to take it away – first class Jazz all the way through.

Hamp is a towering figure in Jazz, and he was so well liked by everyone with whom he  came in contact.  His ebullience and flamboyant personality made him stand out, just as his peerless technique, style and verve have secured for him a place among the greatest.  And when you consider that no one before him had given the vibes a Jazz identity, his accomplishments are all the more important.  Several Caribbean and other musicians, and even several Belizeans, have now given the “pan” (steel drum) a Jazz voice in the same way that Hamp gave expression to the vibes.  I highly recommend the music of Lionel Hampton.  Whether you are young or “mature” there is something in all of his music to savor.  I do hope you will get a hold of some “Hamp.”  I can guarantee that you will like it.  If you do, Diana and Frankie would be pleased as well, I'm certain.     

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