Lionel Hampton, the first significant jazz vibraphonist in history, was a one-of-a-kind entertainer. He would do almost anything to excite audiences and it was impossible not to smile during his exhilarating performances. At the 1987 Playboy Jazz Festival, he was scheduled to end the long weekend, following guitarist-singer George Benson who was at the height of his popularity. Benson finished his set with a long and rousing version of “On Broadway” that had the audience dancing and cheering. Here is what I wrote at the time about what happened next:
“Programmed to close the festival, Lionel Hampton knew that it would be difficult to keep the audience after Benson had slain them, but the vibist has had sixty years of experience at generating his own brand of excitement. As the stage revolved and Benson waved farewell, Hamp’s young orchestra was already roaring. The ageless leader jumped around the stage, switching from vibes to drums to two-fingered piano to vocals and back to vibes. The departing crowd stopped in their tracks. On ‘Mack The Knife,’ Hampton took several difficult dance steps; the crowd went crazy and joined in. ‘Sing Sing Sing’ had him taking a ten-minute drum solo and ‘Hamp’s Boogie Woogie,’ ‘Hey Ba Ba Re Bop,’ and of course ‘Flying Home’ caused mass hysteria. After a long version of ‘In The Mood,’ Hampton (who was running way overtime) tried to leave but people were literally pounding on the stage demanding more.
“Hamp, who was surrounded by flowers thrown at his feet, changed his mind but the stage had revolved when he wasn’t looking, the band was gone, and the security people had taken away the microphones. The applause did not let up for 15 minutes but finally Hampton, with the spotlight still on him, sadly shuffled away, for the first time looking his 74 years. The festival was over.”
Lionel Hampton was born on April 20, 1908, in Louisville, Kentucky, growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Kenosha, Wisconsin and, from 1916, Chicago. He started his musical career as a teenager playing drums with Major N. Clark Smith’s Chicago Defender Newsboys’ Band. He also had a few xylophone lessons from Jimmy Bertrand, a drummer and washboard player who played xylophone now and then for variety.
Hampton worked as a drummer in the Chicago area until moving to Los Angeles in 1927. Tom Lord’s comprehensive jazz discography lists Hampton as possibly making his recording debut as a 16-year old drummer on two numbers recorded in Hollywood in Nov. 1924 with Reb Spikes’ Legion Club 45’s but that is not definite. When he relocated to L.A., Hampton at first worked with Curtis Mosby’s Blue Blowers and then became a member of one of the best bands on the West Coast, Paul Howard’s Quality Serenaders. The octet (soon growing to ten pieces), which included its leader on tenor and future Ellington star trombonist Lawrence Brown, recorded a dozen numbers during 1929-30 with Hampton’s drumming driving the ensembles. At 21, Hampton was already turning into a showman, adding colorful rhythms, sometimes juggling his drum sticks, and always supplying an infectious smile.
After he left the Quality Serenaders in 1930, Hampton became a member of the Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra which was directed by Les Hite. Louis Armstrong came to town and used the group as his backup band for around eight months. Hampton recorded twelve numbers with Armstrong, including “I’m A Ding Dong Daddy,” “Body And Soul,” and “Sweethearts On Parade.” On “You’re Driving Me Crazy” one can hear Hampton talking a bit as he does some comedy with the trumpeter. At the session of Oct. 16, 1930, Armstrong noticed a vibraphone in the studio and asked Hampton if he could play a few notes behind him on “Memories Of You.” Hampton, using what he learned from his xylophone lessons, played the introduction on vibes and a little bit behind Armstrong. He can also be heard playing vibes briefly behind the first part of Satch’s vocal on “Shine” from Mar. 9, 1931.
The predecessor of the vibraphone, the xylophone, had been showcased on a series of recordings by a few virtuosos (most notably George Hamilton Green) and now and then it appeared on jazz dates, usually for just a few notes. Drummers sometimes considered the xylophone and, by the mid-1920s, the vibraphone, to be part of their percussion setup, utilizing it for color but not taking it all that seriously. By the early 1930s, Red Norvo had become the first great jazz xylophonist but very few others were interested in trying to follow him.
While the xylophone has wooden bars, a smaller range, and a higher pitch, the vibraphone utilizes metal bars and has a sustain pedal which allows the notes to ring with a metallic sound. Hampton’s playing on “Memories Of You” is sometimes cited as the first use of the vibraphone on a jazz recording but that is not true. Rudy Starita, who also played xylophone and drums, can be heard on vibes with Bert Firman’s orchestra in England as early as 1926. Among those drummers who at least hit the vibraphone now and then on records during 1927-29 were Harold McDonald (with Paul Whiteman), Chauncey Morehouse (the All-Star Orchestra and Red Nichols), Vic Berton (the Six Jelly Beans), Stan King (the Big Aces), Benny Washington (Earl Hines), and Paul Barbarin (Red Allen).
Hampton was not even the first vibraphonist to appear on a Louis Armstrong recording for Barbarin made a cameo appearance on that instrument during Satch’s 1929 recording of “Rockin’ Chair.” And it is quite interesting to note that drummer Bob Conselman doubled on vibes during a Benny Goodman recording eight years before Hampton joined BG. Even Jack Teagarden (with Fats Waller) and Don Redman (McKinney’s Cotton Pickers) preceded Hampton with a few notes of their own. And that is not to mention the multi-talented Adrian Rollini who began to play vibes in the late 1920s with Fred Elizalde in England.
Hampton’s brief moments on vibes with Armstrong were just a hint of what was to come. He was actually off records after March 1931 for nearly 5 1/2 years, staying in Los Angeles where he worked with Les Hite into 1934 and then formed his own orchestra. During this period of time, while never completely giving up the drums, Hampton mastered the vibraphone. He popped up briefly in a few films including most notably the Bing Crosby movie Pennies From Heaven where, on “Skeleton In The Closet,” he can be seen wearing a mask and playing drums with Louis Armstrong. Hampton returned to records on Aug. 18, 1936, cutting two songs on vibes (“To You Sweetheart Aloha” and “On A Coconut Island”) with Armstrong and The Polynesians, a Hawaiian group.
All of this was a prelude to his biggest break. The Benny Goodman Orchestra visited Los Angeles in August, Goodman saw and immediately liked Hampton, and the vibraphonist was invited to record with Goodman’s trio with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa. During the recording session of Aug. 21, the trio became the Benny Goodman Quartet on “Moonglow.” Five days later, they came back together to record “Dinah” and “Vibraphone Blues” with Hampton taking a vocal on the latter. During that week he was also part of a Teddy Wilson octet for a session that resulted in four other numbers. In November, Goodman officially asked Hampton to join his quartet and one of the great swing combos was born. It was only a short time before Lionel Hampton was famous in the swing world. He would remain a very popular performer for the next 65 years.
The Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet were the first integrated jazz groups to perform regularly before audiences. Goodman was the #1 bandleader in the swing world of that time so Hampton received a great deal of exposure. While he occasionally filled in on drums with the big band, his work with the clarinetist was otherwise considered a special attraction. He appeared regularly with the Benny Goodman Quartet 1936-38 (including Goodman’s groundbreaking Carnegie Hall concert of Jan. 16, 1938) and the Goodman Sextet of 1939-40 which also included guitarist Charlie Christian. When one considers not only the large number of Hampton’s studio recordings with Goodman but the constant radio broadcasts, many of which have been issued through the years on LPs and CDs, it is not surprising that Lionel Hampton quickly became a household name.
In addition to his work with Goodman, Hampton led a series of all-star sessions (23 in all) during 1937-41 that teamed him with the greats of the era. All of these mostly classic recordings were compiled on a six-LP set by RCA and in more recent times on the essential but out-of-print five CD Mosaic box set The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions. Hampton interacts with such greats as trumpeters Ziggy Elman, Cootie Williams, Jonah Jones, Harry James, Rex Stewart (cornet), a young Dizzy Gillespie, and Henry “Red” Allen, trombonists Lawrence Brown and J.C. Higginbotham, clarinetists Buster Bailey, Omer Simeon, Russell Procope, and Edmond Hall altoists Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, and Benny Carter (also featured on trumpet and clarinet), tenors Herschel Evans, Budd Johnson, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, and Ben Webster, baritonist Harry Carney, pianists Jess Stacy, Billy Kyle, Clyde Hart, Joe Sullivan and Nat King Cole, guitarists Charlie Christian and Oscar Moore, bassists John Kirby, Milt Hinton, and Artie Bernstein, and drummers Gene Krupa, Cozy Cole, Sonny Greer, Jo Jones, Big Sid Catlett, Zutty Singleton, and Nick Fatool. Suffice it to say that the music lives up to its potential.
If Lionel Hampton had retired in 1941, he would still be considered today to have been a legendary figure in the jazz world. His extroverted playing, enthusiasm (which even made Benny Goodman smile), and brilliance on the vibes were always crowd-pleasers and inspired other musicians. While Adrian Rollini exclusively played vibes by the late 1930s, his introverted style was never a competitor for Hampton. Red Norvo permanently switched from xylophone to vibraphone in 1943 and newer players, most notably Terry Gibbs and Milt Jackson, were more modern by the mid-1940s, but Hampton would always be near or at the top of his field for another 50 years. One could not compete with the excitement he invariably caused.
In 1940, Lionel Hampton departed from the musical world of Benny Goodman on very good terms with the clarinetist; they would have many reunions during the next four decades. At first Hampton thought of fronting the King Cole Trio. One can hear him in that setting on a record date from July 17, 1940 included in the Mosaic box. But he really wanted to have his own big band and, while he made recordings with a sextet from his new orchestra in December and with an octet in April 1941, it was not until Dec. 24, 1941, that the 16-piece Lionel Hampton Orchestra had their first recordings. Nothing much happened with those four titles but on May 26, 1942, Hampton made history and hit pay dirt with “Flying Home.”
Next month, we will explore the second part of Lionel Hampton’s unique musical career.
