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At a
recording session in 1930, a vibraphone happened to be
in the studio, and
Armstrong asked
Hampton (who had practiced on one previously) if he
could play a little bit behind him and on "Memories of
You" and "Shine"; Hamp became the first jazz improviser
to record on vibes.
It would be another six
years before he found fame. Lionel Hampton, after
leaving
Hite, had his
own band in Los Angeles' Paradise Cafe, until one night
in 1936 when
Benny Goodman
came into the club and discovered him. Soon, Hampton
recorded with
B.G.,
Teddy Wilson,
and
Gene Krupa as
the Benny Goodman Quartet,
and six weeks later he officially joined
Goodman. An
exciting soloist whose enthusiasm even caused
B.G. to smile,
Hampton became one of the stars of his organization,
appearing in films with
Goodman, at the
famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, and nightly on the
radio. In 1937, he started recording regularly as a
leader for Victor with specially assembled all-star
groups that formed a who's who of swing; all of these
timeless performances (1937-1941) were reissued by
Bluebird on a six-LP set, although in piecemeal fashion
on CD.
Hampton stayed with
Goodman until
1940, sometimes substituting on drums and taking vocals.
In 1940, Lionel Hampton formed his first big band, and
in 1942 had a huge hit with "Flying Home," featuring a
classic
Illinois Jacquet
tenor spot (one of the first R&B solos). During the
remainder of the decade, Hampton's extroverted orchestra
was a big favorite, leaning toward R&B, showing the
influence of bebop after 1944, and sometimes getting
pretty exhibitionistic. Among his sidemen, in addition
to
Jacquet, were
Arnett Cobb,
Dinah Washington
(who Hampton helped discover),
Cat Anderson,
Marshall Royal,
Dexter Gordon,
Milt Buckner,
Earl Bostic,
Snooky Young,
Johnny Griffin,
Joe Wilder,
Benny Bailey,
Charles Mingus,
Fats Navarro,
Al Gray, and
even
Wes Montgomery
and
Betty Carter.
Hampton's popularity allowed him to continue leading big
bands off and on into the mid-'90s, and the 1953 edition
that visited Paris (with
Clifford Brown,
Art Farmer,
Quincy Jones,
Jimmy Cleveland,
Gigi Gryce,
George Wallington,
and
Annie Ross)
would be difficult to top, although fights over money
and the right of the sideman to record led to its
breakup. Hampton appeared and recorded with many
all-star groups in the 1950s including reunions with
Benny Goodman,
meetings with
the Oscar Peterson Trio,
Stan Getz,
Buddy DeFranco,
and as part of a trio with
Art Tatum and
Buddy Rich. He
also was featured in The Benny Goodman Story
(1956).
Since the 1950s, Lionel Hampton has
mostly repeated past triumphs, always playing "Hamp's
Boogie Woogie" (which features his very rapid two-finger
piano playing), "Hey Ba-Ba-Re-Bop," and "Flying Home."
However, his enthusiasm still causes excitement and he
remains a household name. Hampton has recorded through
the years for nearly every label, including two of his
own (Glad Hamp and Who's Who). Despite strokes and the
ravages of age, Lionel Hampton remained a vital force
into the 1990s. In January 2001, a vibraphone he had
played for 15 years was put into the National Museum of
American History. On August 31, 2002, at age 94, Lionel
Hampton suffered major heart failure and passed away.
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