WKCR is pleased to announce our annual celebration of the 121st birthday of the extraordinary Coleman Hawkins with a 24-hour broadcast. This will pre-empt all regularly scheduled Friday programming.
Born on November 21st, 1904, Hawkins is a larger-than-life figure in the tenor saxophone and jazz world. “Hawk,” also known as “Bean,” influenced every saxophone player to come after him, directly or indirectly. With his signature sound and harmonic approach, he helped make the saxophone an essential instrument in jazz. While Bean is primarily associated with the swing era, he also participated in the inception and development of bebop. Many historians believe his 1944 session with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach was the first recorded “bebop” session.
A musical prodigy, Hawk’s first instrument was the piano, taught to him by his mother, followed by the cello. When he turned nine, his parents bought him a C-melody saxophone and he fell in love with the sound of the instrument. During his early teenage years, he began playing gigs around Kansas City. There he met jazz and blues singer Mamie Smith, and after sitting in, he joined her group, Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds. He toured with them for a couple of years before moving to New York and joining the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. By this time, after trying out various saxophones, Hawk had settled on the tenor. With Henderson, Hawk began developing a new style and refining his sound. He left the big band in 1934 and toured Europe for five years as a soloist before returning to the states and forming his own band––The Coleman Hawkins Orchestra––with which he recorded one of the most famous jazz recordings ever made: a version of the popular tune “Body and Soul”. Hawkins continued to make successful records and perform throughout his career until his passing in 1969 alongside other luminaries such as Max Roach (We Insist!), Duke Ellington (Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins), and Sonny Rollins (Sonny Meets Hawk!).
Listeners can join us in honoring the great Coleman Hawkins on 89.9FM or stream his birthday celebration live on our website, wkcr.org. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for updates about this special broadcast and future events. Online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.
