Three Classic Albums Plus (Four!!! / This is Hampton Hawes: The Trio Vol 2 / For Real!)

AVID Jazz presents the latest release in our Four Classic Album series with a re-mastered second, 2CD release from Hampton Hawes, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details.
"Four!!!"; "This Is Hampton Hawes: The Trio Vol. 2"; "For Real!" plus eight tracks from "Everybody Loves Hampton Hawes-The Trio Vol.3" (minus 2 x tracks due to timing constraints).
Born in L.A. on the US West Coast, in 1928, Hampton Hawes was still in his teens and a self-taught pianist when he started playing in the emerging West Coast jazz scene of the late 1940s and 1950s. His partners in music included Shorty Rogers, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Teddy Edwards (all of whom can be found with their own albums in the extensive AVID Jazz catalogue). As we launch our second release in our Classic Albums series featuring Hampton Hawes we thought it might be appropriate to include a quote we used in the sales notes for our first release which featured his classic All Night Sessions, plus most tracks from Volume 1 of his Trio series (AMSC1104). We feel it perfectly captures what Hawes was all about! "As a group the three albums and sixteen selections comprising "All Night Session" represent a most unusual achievement in the annals of jazz recording. The almost two hours of music were recorded at a single continuous session, in order in which you hear the numbers, and without editing of any kind. Playing steadily for several hours is a taxing physical experience at best, but improvising continually for that length of time is an exhausting one, mentally and emotionally. Yet the later selections in "All Night Session" reveal no flagging of vitality, spontaneity, inventiveness. "The feeling wasn't like recording" Hampton Hawes has said in commenting on the session. "We felt like we went somewhere to play for our own pleasure. After we got started, I didn't even think I was making records. In fact we didn't even listen to play-backs. We didn't tighten up as musicians often do in recording studios - we just played because we love to play" Considering the buoyant beat, skilful pacing, variety of material, spontaneous jazz feeling and richness of invention, "All Night Session" is a testimonial of the highest order to musicianship of jazzman Hawes and his associates. Musicians involved were Hampton Hawes on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Red Mitchell on bass and Bruz Freeman drums." It is often said that all of Hampton Hawes releases in the 1950s on Contemporary were classic 5 star albums. And who are we to argue with that, the evidence is on our first volume and again here with volume two.
Here we feature another two of the Trio series (minus 2 tracks from volume 3 due to time constraints) plus another two classics he cut adding sax on "For Real!" and guitar on "Four!!!" Artists involved on our selections include Barney Kessel, Harold Land, Scott La Faro, Frank Butler and of course on the Trio albums, Red Mitchell and Chuck Thompson. As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy them and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across jazz and many other musical genres.