Jazz Icons: Coleman Hawkins Live in '62 & '64

I hesitated getting this one because the dates and locations matched another Coleman Hawkins DVD that I reviewed. Of course, having other shoppers review products really helps. The reviewer that commented about Harry Sweets Edidson stealing the show on Girl From Ipamema, that told me these weren't the same concerts. This one was really great. Sure they are in B&W, but so what, the quality is high for 1962 & 1964, these great pioneers performance is top notch, I count myself lucky to witness these legends in action. Thank you Jazz Icons, again.

Truly missed my Brother Coleman Hawkins he was truly the Father of thee Tenor Saxone of kind along with Coltrane their all missed along with my Dad. RIP until we meet again. Peace"

I have 18 of the Jazz Icons series and Hawkins is one of the best. But that's to say because they are all fantastic. It's unbelievable what you get for well under $20: an hour plus of American classical music (great sound) and a multi-page booklet with photos, history and liner notes. If you love jazz, you can not afford not to check these out.

I saw Hawkins when he was a very old man and he played 'September song' unaccompanied. a very greattenor sax player. This contains some fine examples of his work.

an excellent dvd,i particularly liked the 1964 section due to the addition of harry edison in splendid form!also jo jones and sir charles thompson though hawkins playing is more restricted than in the"62 concert,due,apparently to breathing problems..

Best jazz ever.

My first introduction to these concerts was from a DVD titled  Coleman Hawkins/Harry Edison Quintet: London Concert 1964 . That video contained what must be a different night from the 1964 concerts in London, as well as a different night for the 1962 Belgium concert. While I was thrilled to get that DVD the audio and video were poor. This DVD does not share those flaws. Moreover, the concerts on this one are twice as long and contain different songs.The first segment on this DVD is from June, 1962 in Brussels. The set list is: Disorder At The Border, Autumn Leaves, Lover Come Back To Me, Moonlight In Vermont, All The Things You Are and Ow! These were performed with Coleman on tenor, Jimmy Woode on bass, George Arvanitas on piano, and Kansas Fields on drums.Performance on this segment are a lot more energetic than the one for the same venue that is on the other DVD I mentioned. Woode and Arvanitas took some amazing solos and were 'on' throughout the concert. The drummer, Kansas Fields, was a bit over the top in my opinion. He was an excellent drummer and if you like plenty of chops on solos and fills you will like him. I thought he could have been more subtle, but that is both a personal preference and probably influenced by how much more subtly and smoothly the great drummer, Papa Jo Jones, played in the next segment.About the second segment: it was shot at Wembley Town Hall in London in October 1964. This concert was in conjunction with the BBC's Jazz 625 series with excellent video but a slight echo in the audio. I am unsure as to why the audio is the way it is because one would have thought that it would have been cleaned up or processed for television broadcast. Perhaps it was a raw feed. Regardless, it is not a show stopper for me and actually sounds like an echo is a concert hall without sound baffling if attending a live concert (which this was).The ensemble for this segment are some of the pioneers of jazz. That, alone, makes this segment worth the price of the DVD. We have Coleman Hawkins who made the saxophone a jazz instrument instead of a novelty, Harry Edison who influenced generations of trumpeters, and Papa Jo Jones who redefined swing drumming, as well as giving us vocabularies for both brushes and hi-hats. The other musicians were from the next generation, including Jimmy Woode on bass and Sir Charles Thompson on piano (Thompson actually was from Edison's generation, but spent a lot of his career in smaller ensembles which did not get him the recognition that he deserved.)Songs performed are Disorder At The Border, a medley consisting of Lover Man/Stella By Starlight/Girl From Ipanema, What Is This Thing Called Love, Stoned, another medley consisting of September Song/What's New/Willow Weep For Me, Centerpiece and Caravan.Other reviewers here have described the songs and individuals - especially Sweets Edison - far better than I could so I will not attempt to add comments that are only going to repeat them. I will invite you to compare Papa Jo Jones on drums on this segment to Kansas Fields on the Brussels one. Not to disparage Fields, but to soak in a true master who used tasteful chops and subtle (but amazing) playing to call attention to the soloists instead of himself. Even when he takes his jaw dropping solo on Caravan it's a masterpiece in both rhythm and taste.This DVD has historical value solely because of Hawkins, but that value is greatly increased by Edison and Papa Jo Jones who also pioneered the music and added to its evolution. And, of course, this DVD has outstanding entertainment value as well with 140 minutes of superb jazz.

My memorys came back.

ホーキンスの演奏は、有名な曲を自分のアイデアで変奏するのが特徴。メロディのはじめと終わりだけが、原曲どおりであいだはオリジナルという具合。それなのに原曲の心が伝わる。またなんだか、リラックスした演奏だ。

I have been a fan of the Bean for years. I just love his warm tone and husky phrasing. A little irritated by the over-enthusiastic drummer in the first show, but hey, he did it and I didn't.... but in the second you get 'Papa' Jo Jones so you get your money back there! Harry 'Sweets' is a joy too. Fab value and it will make you happy for years!!

Ici en plus de l'entendre, le plaisir de le voir jouer...quel swing comme le montre Harry Edison.avec ses pouces..lui aussi au diapason.Enfin, ce merveilleux pianiste, Sir Charles Thompson et le brillant Jo Jones font de ce très bon enregistrement un de mes disques favoris

Excellent price, good to see a legend and fast delivery

Good sound, good image, nice booklet with a lot of info.Lots of close up filming of the musicians, e.g. to study Coleman's embouchure - or Harry's.