Both sessions in their entirety are available in various compilation CD's, including The Lionel Hampton Story.

 

Although these 2 sides are identified as Lionel Hampton sessions, they owe their greatness in large part to the compositions, arrangements and playing of Benny Carter  After spending almost 4 years in the mid-1930's living and playing in Europe, Benny returned to the United States in 1938.  Although his time in Europe was personally and professionally rewarding, the truth is that, with the exception of a half dozen songs recorded with group featuring guitarist Django Reinhardt and his old friend and compatriot Coleman Hawkins (found on Django with his American Friends), the quality of the musicians on the other side of the Atlantic was not up to the standards of their American counterparts, especially the rhythm players.  When Benny returned to the U.S., he was eager to once again play with, and have his music played by, the world's best jazz musicians. 

 

He didn't have to wait long.  Less than two months after he returned, Benny recorded four sides with Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra (with "Orchestra" perhaps overstating it since the group consisted of Hampton on vibes, one trumpet, three saxophones and a rhythm section).  Benny provided the arrangements for all four tunes, played solos on three of them and composed one, the session's first number, I'm in the Mood for Swing.  The record starts with Benny's catchy A-A-B-A melody.  The theme is played on open trumpet by Harry James, supported by riffing saxophones, with the saxes taking the bridge in harmony before James plays the recap of the A section.  The melody is followed by terrific solos from Benny and Hampton, both propelled along by the still-riffing sax section.  Carter's solo is particularly notable for its use of space, which gives each phrase its own special weight and, paradoxically, helps create a sensation of forward movement.  The solos are followed by 16-bars of the saxes playing in harmony a melodic line that sounds like it could have been one of Benny's improvised solos.  (This type of sax "soli" was a Carter trademark and one of his great contributions to the art of jazz arranging.)  Finally, Hampton comes in to solo over the bridge and final eight bars while the band (the saxes and James) play a counter melody.  Drummer Jo Jones keeps things swinging with his elegant timekeeping.  Here, in less than three minutes, are all of the elements of a great swing band recording: a fine tune, an arrangement which neatly balances ensemble playing with terrific individual solos and a first-rate rhythm section providing a danceable beat.

 

A little over a year later, Benny returned to the studio with another group called "Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra."  And although the lineup for the 1938 session was impressive (Hampton, Benny, Harry James, Herschel Evans on tenor and Jo Jones), this time Hampton assembled a truly astounding collection of talent: in addition to the leader, there was an all-time, all-star sax section of Carter and the great tenor men Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry and Ben Webster; Charlie Christian on guitar; Milt Hinton on bass; Cozy Cole on drums; and, oh yeah, some kid named Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet.  As with the 1938 session, this date started with an arrangement of a Benny original, this time his best-known and most enduring composition, When Lights Are Low.  After the first two A sections of the melody are played by the band, Hampton solos on the bridge, and Benny solos over the last eight bars.  After Hampton's 32 bar solo, Hawkins rides an interlude into his own 16 bar statement.  The final eight bars (plus four bar tag) have the horns re-imagining the melody while Hampton improvises on top.

 

In his book Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence musicologist Andre Hodeir wrote that this recording of When Lights Are Low may be regarded as "the apex of the ascending curve that symbolizes the evolution of swing."  I've never actually tried to plot the evolution of swing on graph paper (clearly, "year" would go on the x-axis, but what is the y-axis?), but I will say that as much as I love the great hits of Ellington, Basie, Goodman and the rest, I'd be hard-pressed to name two swing band records I like more than these versions of I'm in the Mood for Swing and When Lights Are Low.

 

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all and thanks for reading these posts and sending comments.