Hamp once told me that when he was a kid his buddies would ask him why he didn't want to come outside and play, and he replied, why didn't they want to come inside and play?... Too funny... Practicing to Hamp was playing... He loved the "Harpsichord"...
This ORIGINAL by Hampton Hawes, is my favorite. I don't usually leave comments, but this is a great exception: A little about the Person, and Musical Genius I came to know... I was a friend of Hampton Hawes in the late sixties, He befriended me after my returning home from Vietnam. As an aspiring singer then, I had worked with a few top-notch piano players, and Hamp would accompany me on the Piano at His house or Mine on occasion.. Then I would follow him to his gig that night: at the "Light House" in Hermosa Beach,. or Shelly's Manhole in Hollywood, CA. He was a kind, engaging, true friend to me as a young aspiring Musician, and a young Man. I truly miss Him
he could really swing couldn't he. This is not a fast tune but when they were fast they could get wild. They didn't call Hampton Hawes The Man With the 105 Fever for nothing.
I can't believe this man's name doesn't come up more frequently in discussions about the real greats and legends of jazz piano. Chops & taste. Unbeatable.