Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes [Paperback]

Hampton Hawes (Author), Don Asher (Author), Gary Giddins (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2001

Hampton Hawes [1928–1977] was one of jazz's greatest pianists. Among his peers from California the self-taught Hawes was second only to Oscar Peterson. At the time of his celebration as New Star of the Year by downbeat magazine (1956), Hawes was already struggling with a heroin addiction that would lead to his arrest and imprisonment, and the interruption of a brilliant career. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy granted Hawes an Executive Pardon. In eloquent and humorous language Hampton Hawes tells of a life of suffering and redemption that reads like an improbable novel. Gary Giddins has called it "a major contribution to the literature of jazz." This book includes a complete discography and eight pages of photographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560253533
• ISBN-13: 978-1560253532
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A be-bop masterpiece!, July 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes (A Da Capo paperback) (Paperback)

Outside of Arthur Taylor's Notes and Tones, Raise...is one of the most important books written on Be-bop or jazz period. It's written from an insider's point of view. Like jazz drummer Taylor, who would better know the cracks and crevices of the world of Be-bop than someone who lived it. Hawes was one of the hippest, bluesiest players to come out of the hard-bop era. 'Raise...is a gas. I laughed all the way through. Hawes is humorous and raw to the gut, check out his interview in Taylor's Notes and Tones. He's a little more toned down though in "Raise..., yet he paints still a marvelous picture of the most dynamic era in jazz, like no one else could. It's a book you can't put down. It's the closest you can get to without actually having been there. "Raise...is raw, vicious, funny, entertaining and downright honest.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best jazz autobiographies ever!, April 21, 1998

By 

Tom Kunkle ([e-mail]) (Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes (A Da Capo paperback) (Paperback)

If you like jazz, get your hands on this book and read it! Its humor, honesty, attention to detail, and readability put other autobiographies (mingus, miles) to shame.

Hawes was the bluesiest of the beboppers and could rightly be called the unrecognized father of hard bop. Unfortunately, he also had a herion habit that crippled his career. For more on that, read the book. Some of his recordings are still in print. Give them a listen, and then start calling DeCapo Press to get them to reprint this jazz literature classic! END

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes (Paperback)

I love this book. Remember, back then when you played this music, it wasn't exactly a sweet world for the musicians (Black ones). I'm glad he let everyone know how hard it was out there. Drugs took this Bad Boy out the game and the world passed him by. Musicians like Brother Hawes, will never be acknowledged for their great playing in the U.S.A.

If there was a dumb remark in this book, I didn't see it. Again, think back to the times he was living in. He talked about Jimmy Rushing and the way he thought about things. Jimmy Rushing came out of a different era, yet Some of his thoughts were not far behind. When he described Black people, some were light skninned, some were black... The book is not dated, it's just good.