For Real

Hampton Hawes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YX3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,175 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

bebop jazz - hampton hawes in quartet with harold land (sax), scott le faro (b), frank butler (d). bebop, modern,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Company, December 27, 2006

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For Real (Audio CD)

As good as Hampton Hawes was, I'm not convinced he's on the same level as his formidable bandmates on this date. I caught him live only once--in the mid-seventies when he was content to play Fender Rhodes--and he swung and played with expressive fire even on the monotonous electric piano. On acoustic piano, many of his licks are reminiscent of Horace Silver, though he clearly had more chops than Horace; his touch--light, nimble, precise, and curiously "staccato"--is close enough to Andre Previn's to make distinguishing the two difficult at times.

Hamp definitely was one of the better pianists on the West Coast if not American scene in the 1950s. But the only pianist I've heard who was capable of following the sublime and masterful Harold Land during this period (1958), after the latter's departure from the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet, was Carl Perkins, whose life was tragically shortened by some of the same bad habits that plagued Hamp. Just as well Carl wasn't on this date, because Amazon doesn't permit awarding more than 5 stars.

As for Land, if Hank Mobley was the "middleweight champion" of the tenor sax (Leonard Feather's characterization of him) on the East Coast, Harold certainly could claim that title on the West Coast. Land was the more precise, "organized" soloist, seeing the whole playing field and negotiating it with awesome grace; Mobley the more lyrical and reactive player, singing his blues-based heart out in whatever musical context he found himself in. Both players began to lose some of the breath support required for a vibrant sound as early as the mid-sixties, but before 1965 I can think of no two players in jazz who wear better on recordings, day in and day out. On this Hawes date Harold is the stand-out player.

Frank Butler's clean and precise playing is a perfect complement to both Hawes and Land. He may be the most underrated drummer in the history of jazzl it would certainly be impossible to overrate him--given his talentsand comparative anonymity--as a soloist or, in this case, a supportive contributor. The man simply had it all, making his most memorable contributions within the context of the quintessential Curtis Counce Quintet.

Before Scottie LaFaro went with Bill Evans, he laid down walking 4/4 bass lines with the best construction workers on the instrument--Brown, Watkins, Chambers, and Sam Jones included. And he plays melodic lines during his solos on the present session, presaging his reinvention of the instrument's role. Finally, I compared this recording with a new one by a bass player of note, and guess which had the clearer, more definitive, more "true" sound. The advantage is Scottie's by a wide margin (whether the credit/blame should go to Scottie or the recording engineers of the respective sessions, I can't say. Increasingly, I'm hearing overly boosted, muddy, poorly defined bass sounds on location as well as on record).

At first the tunes sounded a bit weak, overly familiar. "Wrap Your Troubles" rests in an uneasy middle ground between ballad and funk, and two of the "originals" are thinly disguised reworkings of "Has Anybody Seen My Gal" and "The Preacher" (itself a reworking of "Show Me the Way to Go Home"). But after a third playing the strength of the solos more than compensated for the lack of instantly gratifying grooves. These players don't require formulae, gimmicks, and exaggerated devices of any sort to locate a groove that is as naturally deep as it is fertile.

Back to the earlier point about the "technology," I've heard all of the unstinting praise of Rudy, and I've heard Metheny proclaim how lucky we all are to be living in a new millennium when audio recording has become so advanced that we can hear his fingers slide on the guitar strings. Nonetheless, it would be hard to improve on the 1950s' recordings produced by Lester Koenig and engineered by Roy DuNann. Unlike the boomy new recordings I've been picking up of late, the bass of Scott La Faro is absolutely "right"--gritty and gutty but also crystalline clear, with resonating but sharply delineated pitches; and the lockstep and interplay between him and the tight and crisp percussion of Butler is a constant source of delight. Made 49 years ago, this recording is, simply, as good as it gets. In that respect, Scotty and we are inarguably the lucky ones. I hope there are still young listeners (especially bassists and drummers) to take note and learn.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An angel on one shoulder a devil on the other, October 7, 2006

By 

Joel Schneider (San Francisco, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For Real (Audio CD)

If you like your bop cooked up with lots of grease this is the session for you. Hamp's playing is superbad throughout. Check out the title track, "For Real!". This is one of the great piano solos of all time. He sounds like a preacher calling down from his pulpit, sending out the word to his flock. The solo is long but never once loses the thread of the story it has to tell- a perfect balance of the sacred and the profane. Hamp's comping alone is worth the price of admission - a combination of sanctified feeling and street smarts that propels the groove like a smooth running engine.
The rythmn section smokes with the great, underrated Frank Butler on drums and bass messiah Scott LaFaro stirring things up. If you never heard LaFaro play straight ahead check this cd out immediately. He swings as hard as Chambers or Heath and while accompanying beautifully still manages to project his larger than life personality without dominating. What an incredible loss! whether it be with Ornette or Bill Evans or a down home session like this, Scott LaFaro could deliver the goods.
This is a recording that stands the test of time. "For Real!" was recorded in 1959 and Hamp was at that point probably to "Hip" for his own good. With an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other he couldn't keep things going forever. He was arrested shortly after the session and spent the next five years in federal prison. Oh well that's another horror story. At least for this recording you can tell that Hamp, like the other players, was definitely feeling good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy, November 22, 2006

By 

cdog "cdog" - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Real (Audio CD)

This is a fine addition to any collection of the late '50's hard bop period. Because of my limited knowledge of contemporary jazz i'll limit my review to what i Do Know. One thing is for certain Mr. Hawes allows ample opportunity on this release for all musicians to participate. There is a clear understanding here as to why Bill Evans would select the up and coming Mr. Lafaro for his bass player. Scott , following in the steps of Jimmy Blanton before him, helped elevate the bass into a lead sounding instrument. I personally add Charles Mingus into this lineage.
The sound is well balanced and the selection is diverse and should provide years of enjoyment. BTW this was released in 1958 (not '59)