Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (born July 26, 1914 in Birmingham , Alabama , † November 11, 1993 in Willingboro , New Jersey ) was an American jazz musician ( trumpeter ), arranger and band leader of swing .
Life
Erskine Hawkins formed his first orchestra during his training at Alabama State Teachers College in 1935 and went to New York a year later, where he quickly became popular and performed at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem for a total of ten years . The style of the orchestra was initially shaped by Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie . They delivered a slightly swinging and "stomping" music that was very popular with their black fan base and ideal for dancing.
Hawkins' band played a total of 150 recordings for radio between 1936 and 1951, which also appeared on records, but developed more and more in the direction of rhythm and blues in the style of Lionel Hampton . The leading soloists of the period were trumpeter Dud Bascomb , tenor saxophonists Paul Bascomb and Julian Dash , alto saxophonist Bobby Smith and pianists Avery Parrish and Ace Harris , the latter also as a singer. Hawkins had his first hit in the Billboard Top 30 in August 1936 with "(It Will Have to You) Until the Real Thing Comes Along" (# 20) from the first session under his own name the month before. With “Bicycle Bounce” he got into the “Harlem Hit Parade” (the forerunner of the R&B charts) in 1942 .
Best known tracks were "Weary Blues" (1938), "Tuxedo Junction" (1939), which was a very popular hit during the Second World War (and was re-enacted by Glenn Miller ), also "After Hours", "Put Yourself In My Place "(1940)," Caldonia "and" Tippin´ In "(written by Bobby Smith, 1945)," Needle Points "(1946) and" Down Home Jump "(1951). The last of his 16 chart successes was "Gabriel's Heater" (# 24) in May 1948. The best known singers in his orchestra were Ida James , Delores Brown and Della Reese .
In the 1960s, Erskine Hawkins returned to the jazz scene with a sextet line-up, but was unable to follow up on earlier successes. In 1978, Erskine Hawkins was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame as one of the first five artists .
Discography
Erskine Hawkins' recordings from 1936 to 1949 are published by Classics .
- The Original Tuxedo Junction (Bluebird, 1938-45)
literature
- Martin Kunzler : Jazzlexikon Reinbek, Rowohlt, 1992
Web links
- Erskine Hawkins Biography (Alabama Music Hall of Fame)
- Erskine Hawkins at All About Jazz
- Erskine Hawkins at Allmusic (English)
Remarks
- ↑ The orchestra was called Alabama State Collegians .
- ^ Billboard November 21, 1942, p. 24
- ↑ In the Erskine Hawkins version, the title rose to number 7 on the national charts, while the Glenn Miller version reached number 1.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hawkins, Erskine |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hawkins, Erskine Ramsey |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz trumpeter and band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 26, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , Alabama |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 11, 1993 |
| Place of death | Willingboro , New Jersey |