Search - Lionel Hampton :: 1950-1951

Portrait of a hardworking bandleader in the early vocals era

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 03/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Vibrophonist Lionel Hampton led a legendarily upbeat, bop-friendly big band, with a heavy R&B flavor. At times it may have been a bit much; the pace can be a little unrelenting, the charts and tight brass attack start to sound a lot alike from song to song. Still, it's muscular and lively music, even if the nods towards hard jazz seem to undercut Hampton's melodic strengths: on most of these songs his vibes are simply buried under an avalanche of aggressive rhythms and horn arrangements, although pianist Milt Buckner helps cut through the swath from time to time. On this disc, the 11th in the complete Classics series, Hampton and his band move from the Decca label to the more pop-oriented MGM; along the way they cut several vocal numbers... In general, Hampton didn't attract the top vocal talent -- for starters, skip past some of the tracks featuring flat-voiced songbird Janet Thurlow, and you'll be alright. His perky version of the klezmer-themed "Shalom, Shalom" is probably the album's greatest oddity."