Hampton was the first jazz vibraphonist and a long-lived talent, who played with jazz giants from Louis Armstrong to Benny Goodman to Charles Mingus. Len Lyons said that Hampton "was the master of a rhythmic vitality that enlivened every ban he played in.
In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Lyons recommends Hampton's album, The Complete Lionel Hampton, 1937-1941 (RCA AXM6-5536, 6 LPs). The album is available on CD from Amazon.com.
In addition to that album, Jim Determan recommends the following, commenting that "These three volumes contain much of material from the all star sessions that made up the LP boxed set. The first volume is Hampton's pick of his favorites from these sessions.":
- Lionel Hampton: Vol. 1 Hot Mallets! The All-Star Groups (RCA), available from Amazon.com.
- Lionel Hampton: Vol. 2 The Jumpin' Jive: The All-Star Groups: 1937-1939 (RCA), available from Amazon.com.
- Lionel Hampton: Vol. 3 Tempo and Swing: The All-Star Groups: 1939-1940 (RCA), available from Amazon.com.
Robert
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