Search - Coleman Hawkins :: Verve Jazz Masters 34

Carelessly assembled overview

Johnny Hodges | Clark Fork, ID United States | 10/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On the positive side:

Over an hour of varied material from the 40's thru the 60's. Highlights includes: another rendition of the famed "Body and Soul" solo, a gorgeious duet (duel?) with Ben Webster, an awesome unaccompanied solo "Picasso", a heart-rending "Night and Day", and a total of 62 minutes of the mother of all (tenor) sax players. There is some great piano work from Hank Jones, Tommy Flannagan and Oscar Peterson.



On the negative side:

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the order of the tracks. There is a jarring inconsistency in sound quality; to be expected on older vs newer tracks, but there seems to be some big differences in sound on cuts from the same date! And can't we use digital remastering to reduce or eliminate the jarring applause on the live tracks? Contrast this with the Decca "Coleman Hawkins in the 50's", which mixes arguably weaker commercial, bop, and swing jazz in a sequence that plays well and with a consistency of sound quality that makes for a better listening experience when playing the CD straight through."