Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Hawkins playing bossa nova? As the All Music Guide review quoted above suggests, this might have sounded crazy at that time. However, Hawkins was always a modern musician and had ears for anything new. He is widely regarded as the “father” of the tenor saxophone in jazz. Although there were already competent saxophonists prior to Hawk, he was the first jazz saxophonist to achieve greatness. Desafinado was a Bob Thiele-produced album Hawkins did for Impulse. Producer Bob Thiele and music director Albam were strong in their resolve directing Hawkins to do this project, and the results are fairly predictable, especially considering that every single track is played in mid-tempo. The difference is the deployment of two guitarists in Barry Galbraith (lead) and Howard Collins (rhythm) split into separate stereo channels, with bassist Major Holley and no full kit drummer, although Eddie Locke with a minimal and stripped-down setup, Willie Rodriguez, and even Tommy Flanagan play small Latin percussion instruments. The simplified style of this album overall perfectly suited the amiable, good-natured, and laid-back Hawkins at a time when the world was somewhat in political turmoil regarding Caribbean nations and the role of South America in the emerging so-called Third World. Hawkins would continue playing and recording until his very last days. He died on May 19, 1969, at the age of 64.

4 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE: “That Coleman Hawkins jumped on the jazz/bossa nova bandwagon craze initiated by Stan Getz in 1962 was a bit of a surprise to his fans, but that he was comfortable in the idiom should not be off-putting. Able to adapt to any style over his lengthy career, the legendary tenor saxophonist chose classic standards adapted to Brazilian rhythms, music from masters like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, and a Manny Albam original. He passed away seven years later, leaving a legacy as the most revered tenor saxophonist in jazz, and this very nice recording in his long discography, unique even unto itself.” (Michael G. Nastos)