Coleman Hawkins and His Confreres (with The Oscar Peterson Trio, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster) – Verve/APO

by | Apr 1, 2013 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Coleman Hawkins and His Confreres (with The Oscar Peterson Trio, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster) – Verve/APO (Analogue Productions) stereo-only SACD CVRI 6110 SA [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] *****:

(Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster – tenor sax/ Oscar Peterson – piano/ Herb Ellis – guitar/ Ray Brown – bass/ Coleman Hawkins – tenor sax/ Roy Eldridge – trumpet/ Hank Jones – piano/ George Duvivier – doublebass/ Alvin Stoller & Mickey Sheen – drums)

This wonderful session was originally released on a Verve LP back in 1958; considering the year it was probably originally a mono LP, but this disc was remastered by Sterling Sound from the original stereo tapes. Just look at that list of jazz greats! You get three of the major horn players here at their peaks, though Ben Webster only plays on Track 1, “Maria”. Duvivier was an amazingly versatile bassist, and of course we all know about the trio of Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis and Ray Brown (who are evidently also only heard on track 1).

Hank Jones is the pianist on the other five tracks, and like the rest of the group swings like mad. Eldridge takes a brilliant solo in “Sunday.” The note booklet is from Nat Hentoff, has a paragraph on each of the tracks, and is great reading. The fourth and fifth numbers must be lengthier, because Hentoff’s notes refer to the “second side” of just two tunes. The session ends with the blues-oriented “Nabob” and when it’s over you’ll know you’ve been in the aural company of some of the best mainstream jazz players ever.

TrackList:  Maria, Sunday, Hanid, Honey Flower, Nabob

—John Henry

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