SwingDJs

I was teasing one of my favorite DJs about his love for Lionel Hampton and I decided I should go back and listen to what I have of his. It is frankly very little of him as a band leader [i.e. I have a lot of his work on Benny Goodman tracks].

I did hear an awesome song on the radio a few weeks back, a version of Ring Dem Bells with Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Hank Jones, Ben Webster and Milt Hinton. Really nice sound on the disc "You better know it" and most tracks DJ'eable. It was a pleasant surprise to find.

Any recommendations of must have Lionel Hampton?

Thanks in advance.

djstarr wrote:Any recommendations of must have Lionel Hampton?

I wouldn't say MUST have, but I like these tracks:

Fiddle Diddle
Till Tom Special
Lavender Coffin
Flying Home (3 versions)
Loose Wig

my Hampton favs:

down home jump
in the bag
it don't mean a thing (one of the better versions imo)
flying homes
loose wig
hot mallets
hey! ba ba re bop! (newport 67-- yeah travis!)
drink wine spo-dee-o-dee! (for travis and falty)

I love Lionel Hampton, with his band, with Goodman, with most people...
in fact, I've just succumbed to temptation and bought the Mosaic set (damn those Mosaic emails!).

This CD fostered a deep and abiding love for this man:


Tempo and Swing (RCA). It's gold.

I have quite a bit of mid '40s Dinah Washington stuff where she's singing with Hampton's band, including a few fabulous versions of Blow Top Blues.

I also play quite a few Hampton tracks for blues dancers. Slow, dirty, excellent dancing.

You really can't go past the Hamp Proper box set for a good, cheap overview of Hampton excellence:

dogpossum wrote: This CD fostered a deep and abiding love for this man:


Tempo and Swing (RCA). It's gold.

Thanks Sam! This has "Jivin' with Jarvis" on it, which when looking at the track listings I remembered I really wanted. Last time in New Orleans, a young man working the rental car counter was named Jarvis; I looked at him and told him about the song - he just stared. lol.

And one of the few fun things left I can do on my work computer, besides posting on forums, is buying CDs from Amazon. Ka-ching!

Mmmmm. I like "Four or Five Times." Never heard it played in this scene. Gonna change that once I get it.

"Dough-Ra-Me" has me bouncing in my chair, too. But I'll have to try dancing to it--could be a little light and difficult to swing out to.

And I see why "Jivin' With Jarvis" is popular--I should have it. Don't.

I like "A Martin On Every Block" sitting here listening, but I think it'd have to be spun for a pretty high-level, old-music-loving crowd to excite dancers.

A few favorites of mine not mentioned yet, all off the Mosaic set:

Whoa Babe (200)
Ring Dem Bells (251)
Don't Be That Way (135)
Johnny Get Your Horn (174)
Sweethearts on Parade (174)
When Lights Are Low (196)
Early Session Hop (212)
I've Found A New Baby (320)
Fiddle Dee Dee (188)

N.B: The last track was accidently replaced by Fiddle Diddle on the Mosaic set. It is available on the Proper set though.

I like the earlier stuff from the Proper set. Much of the later stuff is a bit jump-blues/boggie-woogie/broad/slow for my taste. Many dancers seem to love it, though.