Customer Reviews

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Coleman Hawkins

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Coleman Hawkins released so much music over his lifetime in so many styles of jazz that this is a good sampler. As far as the other reviewers complaining about the crackling, I think it's about time a company reissue 78 RPM-era recordings without removing the crackle and pops. Early jazz and blues was recorded in the kitchens of after-hours joints while breakfast was being cooked... that's the bacon sizzling in the background you hear. How else could Jimmy Rushing and Big Joe Turner maintain the girth that made them famous?
Seriously, the surface noise is a bit distracting, but a lot of those remasters where it is removed takes away subtle shades and nuances in the music. Remember too, that these sides were recorded prior to the use of magnetic tape. I'm sure that for a series like Ken Burns Jazz, which stood to make more money than any other jazz reissue campaign, the labels did not hesitate to use their best, most pristine masters available. As far as the packaging, well, yes, that could have been more attractive.

This is a nice, tasteful collection of Hawkins's music. I especially appreciated the inclusion of "Ruby My Dear" from the Thelonious Monk album "Monk's Music", which gives one the chance to hear Hawk's emotive tenor in an atypical context.

The packaging is terrible though, as it is on all of the Ken Burns series. Jazz albums are supposed to have attractive cover art.

I admit to a very spotty interest in jazz over my life time and while I have always loved those 1940's swing bands, like that of Benny Goodman, it was only with the celebration of the centennial of Duke Ellington's birth in 1999 that I got a little more serious about this genre. Ken Burns' "Jazz" series for PBS gave me another boost. Still and all there are huge gaps in my knowledge and appreciation of the classic jazz tradition. This is a little odd in that there is a certain convergence between jazz and my favorite musical genre, the blues. The artist under review here exemplifies both those traditions, the "max daddy" tenor sax player Coleman Hawkins, who was the consummate professional and innovator on that instrument back in the days. All others, including the great Lester Young and Ben Webster, fall in behind this master. That much I do know.

A part of the Burns "Jazz" educational process a series of individual CDs featuring the classic works of the various artists featured in the documentaries were produced. Here the best of Hawkins, starting back in the 1920's, is given a full workout. The "best" here -no question- "Body And Soul", "I Mean You" and the later jumped up "Driva Man" (with the legendary Max Roach on drums). Wow.

Great artist and the selection of songs is good, but the quality of recording is very bad. Choose something else from this artist

It is the music that deserves the 5 stars here, which is what I am rating it. But the sound quality on some of the tracks is terrible. And seeing as the same problem exists on a lot of the Ken Burns series, while the same songs on other cd releases have been fine in the sound quality, I have come up with the only answer possible. That those songs have been transferred straight from the original 78 rpm records. It certainly sounds that way, but I don't understand why they should do that. Surely these great jazz artists deserve the best sound possible for their masterpieces. But, all that aside, this is still a good collection to have, especially for someone unfamiliar with Hawkins, as it covers most of his career and different record labels. The booklet contains a couple of photos and an interesting essay on Hawkins. If only the sound were better!

Unfortunately 5 tracks have terrible quality, you hear a loud sizzling on these tracks. You would have thought that for this special projection they could have come up with cleaner tracks. How can a producer permitted those tracks to have been printed? The noise takes away from the enjoyment of those tracks. The rest of the tracks are great and you can enjoy the beautiful playing of Hawkins. I have the Blakey, Bechet, Davis and the best of and have not experienced the same problem.