COLEMAN HAWKINS: A TOWERING JAZZ INFLUENCE

Jimmy McHugh’s ballad, Lost In A Fog 

- A Signature Recording

Coleman Hawkins with Miles Davis performing at The Three Deuces Club, New York - circa 1947

Speaking about legendary saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis said "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads." Notably among the top ballads recorded by Hawkins was the atmospheric Jimmy McHugh ballad, Lost In A Fog.

While Hawkins is most strongly associated with Swing Music and the Big Band era, he also had a pivotal role in the early development of Bebop in the 1940s.

The evolution of his musical styles can be traced through the musicians with whom he played. Throughout the 1920s and 30s he teamed with Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Benny Carter and Benny Goodman.

Coleman Hawkins in performance - circa 1946

Images by famed jazz photographer William P. Gottlieb 

In the early 1940s, Hawkins (whose nickname was ‘The Hawk’) led a combo which included Thelonius Monk, Oscar Pettiford, Max Roach and Miles Davis.

Hawkins had a keen ear for new talent and styles and was  leader on what is generally considered as the first ever Bebop recording session with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach.

Through his later years Hawkins continued to influence many important artists, recording or performing with such adventurous musicians as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.

Here’s a link to vintage Coleman Hawkins performing Jimmy McHugh’s Lost In A Fog (From the album The Hawk In Europe 1934 - 1937)