Coleman Hawkins—In Europe: London, Paris & Brussels

Born in 1904, Coleman Hawkins was one of the most influential musicians in the history of 20th-century jazz. Commonly acknowledged as the first really significant jazz tenor saxophonist, Hawkins recorded a version of “Body and Soul” in 1939 boasting astonishingly fluid, extended improvisation that made it one of the immortal jazz recordings. Oddly, the best evidence of Hawkins' greatness is found not in the four early-to-mid 1960s separate filmed concert performances here, but rather in “After Hours,” a 26-minute bonus featurette: introduced by hipster DJ William B. Williams, this New York jam session pairs Hawkins with players like pianist Johnny Guarnieri, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and drummer Cozy Cole, while showing off the saxophonist's bold tone and aggressive style to excellent effect. In the main program, the gigs in London (in 1964 with trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison and drummer Jo Jones, and in 1966 with Benny Carter on alto sax and the virtuoso Louie Bellson on skins), Paris (a single tune from 1962, with Oscar Peterson on piano), and Brussels (an informal ‘62 session taped in a TV studio) deliver plenty of great tunes and fine playing—with technical quality ranging from good to awful—but nothing as scintillating as that New York session in the DVD extras. Still, given the general dearth of Hawkins performances on DVD, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (S. Graham)