Flyin' Home (To Idaho)

Vibes Giant Lionel Hampton Keeps The Music Going In His Life With Namesake Jazz Fest

The following article on Lionel Hampton was originally published in the February 2001 issue of Jazz Connection Magazine.

The way legendary vibraphone great Lionel Hampton sees it,  in order for good jazz to be good it has to have a good beat and good ideas and it has to swing.

"It has to have heart, feeling and a lot of soul," said Hampton via telephone last month from his apartment in New York City. "That's the lesson that has been handed down in music.  It's got to swing."

Now at age 92 and coupled with a number of strokes that has left his speech slurred, his hearing diminished and his stride a bit slower, Hampton continues to produce magical and vibrant jazz especially when the month of February rolls around.  That's when he takes to the stage to host his Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho at Moscow, ID.

Now in it's 34th year, the four-day Fest (it's the first jazz festival ever named after a jazz musician and the first jazz festival ever named after an African-American) is a combination of entertainment and education.  It boasts a roster of the world's most revered jazz masters performing in the University of Idaho's vast Kibbie Dome.  This year's gala takes place Feb. 21-24, 2001.

Among the prestigious musicians performing will be Hank Jones, piano;  Ray Brown and Christian McBride on bass;  Herb Ellis and Russell Malone, guitar;  Benny Golson, Joe Lovano and Paquito D'Rivera, saxophone;  Clark Terry, trumpet;  Bill Watrous and Carl Fontana, trombone;  Ben Riley, drums; and Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls and Freddy Cole, vocals. 

The festival is also a showcase of performance competitions for students from elementary through college level.  Each performance is judged by leading jazz educators who provide immediate feedback.  The winners have the opportunity to perform in special winners' concerts. In addition, jazz musicians share their expertise in more than thirty workshops.  Each day is made complete by an evening concert led by Hampton and these all star musicians.

Because of  the wide availability of musical education in schools, Hampton admitted that the caliber of musicianship is at a higher level today than at any time during the previous seven decades.

"It all comes from the heart,"  he said.

In addition, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival brings visiting jazz musicians to more than twenty elementary schools throughout the region.  Each presentation consists of musical numbers, information about jazz, and demonstrations of jazz techniques.  The program brings jazz to children who might otherwise not have a chance to participate in the festival.

 "Lionel is like Louis Armstrong," said jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, as quoted in a previously published article.  Hubbard got his first horn when Hampton donated instruments to his drum and bugle corps in Indianapolis.  "He's someone who brought music to the people."

And it's the music that keeps Hampton going.  When sitting alone, he appears to be a tired, old man. But when the music plays, a metamorphosis occurs.  The batteries are recharged and he becomes rejuvenated with the energy of a young man.

"Whenever I play, I'm looking for new things, for surprises," Hampton said.

One of the more exciting and honored surprises Hampton has experienced in his life was in 1987 when the University of Idaho School of Music was renamed to the Lionel Hampton School of Music.  Like the festival that bears his name, this is the first school of music named after a jazz musician and the first school of music ever named after an African-American.  The school was named to honor Hampton and his considerable contributions to jazz and American culture.  The school is well known for outstanding education in music theory, composition, history and performance of all genres.

"We have great teachers at the Lionel Hampton School of Music," Hampton proudly said.  "The teachers insist students know their instrument, know harmony and scales, things like that.  These help make a person a better musician."

Born on April 20, 1908 in Birmingham, AL, Hampton grew up in Kenosha, WI, and began his career as a drummer in Chicago.  His first teachers were the Dominican Sisters at the Holy Rosary Academy.

By the time he was 20, he was living in Culver City, CA, and working in clubs and recording studios.  During a 1930 session he met and recorded with Louis Armstrong, who encouraged him to change instruments and forever altered the course of jazz.

During a session break, Armstrong pointed to a set of vibes at the back of the studio and asked Hampton if he knew how to play them.  Taking up the challenge, Hampton, who was well-schooled in his keyboard studies, picked up the mallets and said he's give it a go.  He played Armstrong's Cornet Chop Suey.  Armstrong was so amazed that he wanted Hampton to play the vibes on the next tune they were to record.  That tune was Eubie Blake's Memories Of You.  It became a tremendous hit for Armstrong and the young Hampton and has remained a classic throughout the years.

Hampton was a respected name among the jazz community appearing on many recording dates with such immortal artists as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Barney Bigard and Jack Teagarden.

But it wasn't until 1936 when he was hired by clarinet-playing bandleader Benny Goodman that Hampton was brought to national prominence.  Goodman heard Hampton for the first time in person at the Paradise Club in Los Angeles and hired him on the spot. Goodman had a trio within his big band which featured Goodman, Teddy Wilson on piano and Gene Krupa on drums.  The trio quickly became a quartet. 

"Next thing you know, I was on stage jamming with these great musicians,"  Hampton recalled.  "That's one session I'll never forget."

The Benny Goodman Quartet made immediate musical history, not only for the brilliant music they produced, but because they were the first racially integrated group of jazz musicians to perform publicly. 

"It helped open new lines between blacks and whites,"  Hampton said.  "It even helped pave the way, I think, for Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in professional sports."

While with Goodman, Hampton participated in the first-ever jazz concert given at Carnegie Hall on January 16, 1938. He, along with vocalist Martha Tilton and trumpeter Chris Griffin, are the three surviving members from that historic concert.

Among the classics the Benny Goodman Quartet recorded were Moonglow (Aug. 21, 1936); Avalon (July 30, 1937); Stompin' At The Savoy (Dec. 2, 1936); and Vibraphone Blues (Aug. 26, 1936).

Hampton now stands alone as the only living member of that famed Quartet. Krupa was the first member to pass away in 1973, with Goodman and Wilson both following in 1986.

After Krupa and Wilson left  to form their own bands, Hampton stayed with Goodman as a featured performer with the Benny Goodman Sextet, which also included Charlie Christian on guitar, Fletcher Henderson and/orJohnny Guarnieri on piano; Artie Bernstein on bass; and Nick Fatool on drums.

The Sextet performed at Goodman's second Carnegie Hall performance on Oct. 6, 1939, as part of John Hammond's "Spirituals To Swing Concert."

In 1937, Hampton organized for RCA-Victor some superb recording groups that included jazz stars like Krupa, Harry James, Jonah Jones, Charlie Christian, Ziggy Elman, Nat "King" Cole. 

One spectacular session, on Sept. 11, 1939, Hampton put together the sax team of Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry and Ben Webster along with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, guitarist Charlie Christian, bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Cozy Cole to cut four sides: When Lights Are Low, One Sweet Letter From You (vocal by Hampton), Hot Mallets and Early Session Hop.

Hampton left Goodman to form his own action-packed band in 1940. Throughout its career the band reflected its leader's personality  -  fun, moving, electric and always swinging.  Following the release of a succession of highly successful records under his own name, Sunny Side Of The Street (on which he sang as well as played vibes) and Central Avenue Breakdown (May 10, 1940, with the Nat "King" Cole Trio, on which he played piano with two fingers, using them as if they were vibes mallets), Jack The Bellboy (May 10, 1940, playing drums with the Nat "King" Cole Trio),  among them, he flew to the top of the charts with his theme song, Flying Home (May 26, 1942) and Hamp's Boogie Woogie in 1943.

Hampton employed a phenomenal array of sidemen, literally a Who's Who in jazz, who got their start with the vibes great.  Among these were Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon, Quincy Jones, Wes Montgomery, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Charles Mingus, Lucky Thompson, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Clifford Brown and Fat Navarro.  Also, among his protégés were singers Dinah Washington (who was discovered and named by Hampton), Joe Williams, Betty Carter and Aretha Franklin.

In 1943 Hamp's band sported Nat "King" Cole on jazz piano, and in that same year made some recordings with crooner Bing Crosby.

An accomplished composer,  Hampton co-wrote Flying Home, with Benny Goodman, and the ballad, Midnight Sun, with Sonny Burke and Johnny Mercer.  He also composed two major symphonic works, King David Suite and Blues Suite, which have been performed often by leading philharmonic orchestra throughout the world.

In addition to his musical contributions, Hampton's philanthropic endeavors are equally vast, devoting much time and energy to public service projects outside the entertainment field. A staunch supporter of public housing, he developed the Lionel Hampton Houses in the early 1970s in uptown New York and shortly thereafter built the Gladys Hampton Houses, named after his late wife, who died in 1971. The Hampton's were married for 35 years and had no children.  

Currently, Hampton is active in the planning stages of developing his "dream"  -   the Lionel Hampton Institute For Music in Central Harlem  -  a university where "young black kids can learn to be doctors, lawyers, IBM technicians and, if they desire, musicians," he said. 

In 1986, Hampton formed the Lionel Hampton Jazz Endowment Fund which seeks to help underprivileged people.  The program was started after Hampton gave a sold-out concert at New York's Lincoln Center, collecting over $100,000 in receipts for the evening.

A few days later, he was invited to perform at the White House for then President Ronald Reagan.  He asked the President what he should do with the money.  President Reagan suggested to Hampton that he keep it to start an endowment.

"That's how it got started,"  Hampton said. "We even had the President's backing."

The Endowment Fund is designed to help those people who are financially in need, whether it be senior citizens needing food and clothing or an unwed mother seeking affordable housing, Hampton said.

Needs are determined by Board members who review every case.  If a case warrants Board approval, financial assistance is granted.

"Anytime you can help people with money, that's the highest good," Hampton said.  "The Endowment Fund works on the same principle as going to the bank and getting a loan.  It's something that will help people for life."

Hampton also finds time to serve as Honorary Chairman of the Jazz Foundation of America's Musicians Emergency Fund, a newly-formed volunteer organization dedicated to aiding jazz musicians who have fallen on hard times.

Besides humanitarian endeavors, Hampton is also a dedicated supporter of political causes.  For years he has worked and contributed money on behalf of  Republican presidential candidates. He is also a big backer of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and played at the mayor's inaugural bash. He has been an honored guest at the White House many dozens of times and has performed there frequently. Hampton had been a regular guest of former President Bill Clinton, a jazz enthusiast.

Wishing to celebrate Hampton's 90th birthday is grand style, President Clinton invited the jazz giant and his New York Big Band for a special appearance in the East Room of the White House with an audience of 150 Washington friends and notables. The ceremony was also designed to celebrate Hampton's seven decades of monumental contributions to jazz music.

With the strains of  Hail To The Chief echoing throughout the magnificent East Room, the President and First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, entered the room.  Mrs. Clinton stood to deliver a long and impassioned speech addressed to Hampton thanking him for his years of music beloved by the world and the White House's intent to broaden the education of jazz in schools throughout the U.S. Hampton and the band swung into Hamp's Boogie Woogie and several other chandelier-shaking numbers, ending with his signature tune, Flying Home.

Following Flying Home, Hampton announced that "One of the greatest saxophone players in the world happens to be in our audience. May I ask him to rise?"  Then, Hamp implored, "Mr. President, could I ask you to come up on stage and play a number with my band?"

The East Room resounded with thunderous applause and President Clinton, stood, stepped up on the stage and asked to borrow a saxophone from one of Hampton's sidemen, whispered to Hampton who then lifted his hands to conduct and the President began a lyrical rendition of My Funny Valentine.  The President's tone was sure, clear and moving.

Hampton has received innumerable prestigious awards over the years.  Among those he is most proud are the title Official American Goodwill Ambassador, bestowed by Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, the Papal Medal from Pope Paul VI, eighteen Honorary Doctorates, the Gold Medal of Paris, France's highest cultural award, and a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1992, he received the highly-coveted Kennedy Center Honors Award, shared with Mstislav Rostropovich, Paul Taylor, Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman and Ginger Rogers.  In January 1997 he received The National Medal of the Arts at the White House from Clinton's.

Hampton's stateside and overseas tours often feature the exciting seventeen-piece Lionel Hampton New York Big Band, considered by many critics to be the best big band of its type in the world.  How does this band measure up to some of the more stellar bands he's led from the 1940s?

"We have a great saxophone section and brass section," Hampton said. "It's up to you to judge."

Hampton also frequently appears as leader and soloist with his eight-piece group of renowned jazz musicians known as the Golden Men of Jazz, which included Hank Jones, piano;  Clark Terry and Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpets; Al Grey, trombone;  Buddy Tate and James Moody on saxophones; Milt Hinton, bass; and Grady Tate, drums. Hampton's own long-time record label, Glad-Hamp Records, has released many dozens of recordings.  Recent discs on the Telarc label include Lionel Hampton And The Golden Men of Jazz  -- Live At The Blue Note (1991) and Lionel Hampton And The Golden Men Of Jazz  -- Just Jazz -- Live At The Blue Note (1992). 

On the MoJazz label, he recorded For The Love Of Music  in 1995. Appearing with Hampton on this album are Joshua Redman, Dianne Reeves, Chaka Khan, Tito Puente and Stevie Wonder, among others.

The album contains an eclectic mix of pop and straight ahead jazz in which Hampton dives into hip-hop grooves without compromising his improvisational standards.

"It's something different," Hampton said. "There's always something new in jazz.  It helps keep me young."

The album is also a testament to Hampton's versatility and adaptability as an artist.  While many artists from the Swing Era couldn't make the transition to the new jazz idiom, bop, Hampton adapted better than most and it kept his bands from going out of style. Years later in the early 1970s, he also dabbled with light rock.

"I've never feared changes in jazz," he said  "That's what jazz is about.  I always keep my ears and my heart open. As long as I can feel the beat, it's good."

By keeping his ears and heart open, are some of the ways Hampton renews himself, he said.

"I look for different sounds," he said.  "I just pick out the sounds that sound the best."

Besides maintaining his artistic integrity, Hampton remains extremely popular as an entertainer.  That, he said, is the secret of keeping things in balance.

"I'm just a go-getter!"  he said with a laugh.  "There are a lot of good musicians, but they are not entertainers.  Showmanship is important.  Getting the audience involved is the key. My band was criticized as being a 'circus.'  All that jive came from us. Now others are doing it."

In March of 1995, Lionel Hampton suffered a mild stroke and was hospitalized for ten days.  He practiced a diligent program of physical therapy and resumed his career in short order.  In January 1997 a vicious fire engulfed his apartment and destroyed everything he owned, including manuscripts, recordings, photographs, his piano and his vibes.

Despite these set backs, Hampton was determined to keep the music going, he said  His deep faith in God, his indomitable self-determination and his contagious optimism carried him through the rough times.

"I have a good background," he said with a laugh.

It may be argued that it has more to do more with survival than with anything else.  Survival has been very much on our minds recently.  The losses of Tex Beneke and Tito Puente last May and more recently, Les Brown last month, remind us that the ranks are thinning.

When asked if he considers himself a survivor as a bandleader, Hampton replied, "I don't want to go into that."

For the "King of the Vibraphone's" long and distinguished career, he's pretty much seen it all.  And so the question is set before him  -   'Is there anything new in jazz today?'

"It seems to be going back to the days when I started,"  Hampton replied. "That's good."

Certainly Lionel Hampton is leaving a legacy in jazz, pointing to the jazz festival that bears his name, he said.

"If we can help pass on the music to kids, what better legacy is there than that?" he quipped.

"And," he added humorously, "I hope they say he's as good now as he was when he was 17."

There's no debate as to whether Lionel Hampton's fire and passion for the music still burns bright or whether he still swings hard.  It does and he does.

"I just try to play like hell," he said.

*****

***  Coda:  Lionel Hampton died of heart failure at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York on August 31, 2002. He was 94.   ***