Coleman Hawkins Channels "Mood Indigo"
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Artist:
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Album:Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
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With all of the jazz albums out there that have titles like "Such-and-such Meets Such-and-such" — "The Count Meets the Duke", "Lionel Meets the Duke", "Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson", "Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins", etc., etc. — I'd like to see something a bit out of the norm, something like "Duke Ellington Meets Dwight D. Eisenhower". There would be the famous photo of Ike, befuddled and empty-handed, standing in the middle of the exquisite maelstrom of Duke's orchestra, as he thinks, "Damn, I wish I would have learned clarinet instead of tank warfare."
But back to "Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins": In the credits the album lists, "Aaron Bell, bass; Johnny Hodges, alto sax; Coleman Hawkins, tenor sax," and so on. I've always felt this was a bit limiting. It should read something like, "Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone, beautifully breathy and delicate on a ballad, an enormous, comforting presence, huge like some loving force swirling around you and embracing you, pulling you gently closer to the tune. The elegance of his playing closes your eyes and you are suddenly communicating with the music, with the solo. You have no idea what's being said, but you understand every glimmering, soulful nuance up until that final breathy note when the embrace is unclosed, petal by petal, and the song lingers like scented vapor."
That's how a player's description should read.
But back to "Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins": In the credits the album lists, "Aaron Bell, bass; Johnny Hodges, alto sax; Coleman Hawkins, tenor sax," and so on. I've always felt this was a bit limiting. It should read something like, "Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone, beautifully breathy and delicate on a ballad, an enormous, comforting presence, huge like some loving force swirling around you and embracing you, pulling you gently closer to the tune. The elegance of his playing closes your eyes and you are suddenly communicating with the music, with the solo. You have no idea what's being said, but you understand every glimmering, soulful nuance up until that final breathy note when the embrace is unclosed, petal by petal, and the song lingers like scented vapor."
That's how a player's description should read.
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