Left us on this day (Aug. 31) in 2002: Jazz legend Lionel Hampton (congestive heart failure, age 94); he started as a drummer in the late-’20s then went on to become one of the genres premiere vibraphonists, playing with the likes Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong & Quincy Jones; he fronted The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, one of the most popular big bands of the ’40s & ’50s, featuring the likes of Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus & Wes Montgomery; their third recording, in 1942, produced a classic version of Flying Home ( featuring a solo by Illinois Jacquet) that anticipated Rhythm & Blues; he continued to perform & record through the ’80s; Lionel earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1982, was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992 & was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1996; as a philanthropist, he was deeply involved in the construction of various public housing projects & founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation…
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 19:47:33 +0000
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