Happy Birthday, Coleman Hawkins

Jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins was born on November 21, 1904, in St. Joseph, Missouri.  Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz saxophonists.  As jazz critic Joachim E. Berendt said, "There were some tenor players before [Hawkins], but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn."

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons does not recommend any Coleman Hawkins albums per se, but Hawkins appears on a couple of recommended albums by other artists:

• Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman, Developing an American Orchestra 1923-1927 (Smithsonian Collection). Unfortunately, that album is only available in vinyl.
• Lionel Hampton, The Complete Lionel Hampton, 1937-1941 (RCA AXM6-5536, 6 LPs). The album is available on CD from Amazon.com. 

Coleman Hawkins plays his most famous piece, "Body and Soul," here:

Robert
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