Hampton Hawes (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an African American jazz pianist.
The highly regarded bebop pianist Hampton Hawes was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., was minister of the Westminster Presbysterian Church, and his mother was the church pianist. Hawes was reported to have been able to pick out fairly complex tunes on the piano at the age of two. Entirely self-taught, by his teens Hawes was playing with some of the best jazz musicians on the West Coast, including Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Sonny Criss, and Art Pepper. His second professional job, at 19, was playing for eight months with Howard McGhee Quintet at the Hi De Ho club, in a group that featured the greatest jazz musician in the country, Charlie Parker, on alto saxophone.
After serving in the army in Japan from 1952-1954, Hawes formed his own trio, with the bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Chuck Thompson. The three-record "Trio" sessions made by this...
Created by dipity
on Jan 30, 2008
Last updated: 03/10/10 at 05:47 PM
Update Sources
