Body & Soul: The Complete Victor Recordings 1939-1956 (2 Cd Set)

Coleman Hawkins

This collection brings together all the sides the great Coleman Hawkins cut for Bluebird, Victor or its subsidiaries between 1939 and 1956. It includes some of his most outstanding sides (and some of the best jazz recordings ever made). The obvious gem here is Hawkins’ widely revered version of “Body and Soul”, a standard that by 1939 had already seen many excellent jazz readings (including versions by Louis Armstrong and Art Tatum, among others).

Named after Hawkins' 1939 proto-bebop classic, this legendary collection proves why Hawkins is considered by many the finest tenor ever. Picking up his career after a stint alongside Louis Armstrong in Fletcher Henderson's big band and five years in prewar Europe, BODY AND SOUL focuses on Hawkins' essential small group sides of the '40s. Here the former swing enthusiast helped create bebop with the help of future jazz icons Benny Carter, J.J. Johnson, Zoot Sims and Max Roach. From "Meet Doctor Foo" to "Angel Face," Hawkins transforms standards like "My Blue Heaven" into something startlingly new and creates originals like "Bouncing With Bean" that would go on to influenced an entire generation of players. The mid-'50s orchestral sessions that end the album show Hawkins' eagerness to bring bebop's structures into new arenas, and the lovely, string-laden remake of the title track indicates that the experiment was a success.

Tracklisting:

CD1
1. Meet Doctor Foo
2. Fine Dinner
3. She's Funny That Way
4. Body & Soul
5. When Day Is Done
6. Sheik Of Araby, The
7. My Blue Heaven
8. Bouncing With Bean
9. Say It Isn't So
10. Spotlite
11. Indiana Winter
12. Indian Summer
13. Blow Me Down
14. Buckin' The Blues
15. Dixieland Stomp
16. How Did She Look
17. Under A Blanket Of Blue
18. Never In A Million Years
19. You Were Meant For Me
20. April In Paris
21. How Strange
22. Half Step Down Please
23. Angel Face
24. Jumpin' Jane
25. I Love You
26. Picasso (bonus track)

CD2
27. Body & Soul
28. Little Girl Blue
29. I Never Knew
30. Dinner For One, Please James
31. Bean Stalks Again, The
32. His Very Own Blues
33. Day You Came Along, The
34. Have You Met Miss Jones
35. Essence Of You, The
36. There Will Never Be Another You
37. I'm Shootin' High
38. Bean & The Boys
39. April In Paris
40. Mon Homme (My Man)
41. Under Paris Skies
42. Mimi
43. La Chnouf
44. La Vie En Rose
45. La Mer
46. Paris In The Spring
47. I Love Paris
48. Mademoiselle De Paree
49. Chiens Perdu Sans Collier (The Little Lost Dog)
50. Tu N' Peux Pas T' Figurer (Dawn Over Paris)

Personnel includes: Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone); Thelma Carpenter (vocals); Jackie Fields, Bud Johnson (alto saxophone); Allen Eager (tenor saxophone); Charlie Shavers, Fats Navarro, Jimmy Nottingham (trumpet); Jimmy Buffington (French horn); J.C. Higginbotham, J.J. Johnson, Urbie Green (trombone); Sid Jekowsky (flute, clarinet); Hal McKusick, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Al Young, Romeo Penque (reeds); Marty Wilson (vibraphone); Gene Rodgers, Jimmy Jones, Hank Jones (piano); Lawrence Lucie, Mary Osborne, Chuck Wayne, Barry Galbraith (guitar); Oscar Smith, Johnny Williams, Al McKibbon, Milt Hinton, Jack Lesberg, Arnold Fishkin (bass); Art Herbert, Walter Johnson, Shelly Manne, Max Roach, Osie Johnson (drums). Recorded at RCA Studios, New York, New York between 1939 and 1956. Includes liner notes by Dan Morgenstern. Digitally remastered from original metal parts and master tapes by Ed Begley and Bernardo Cosachov.