Coleman Hawkins

4 STARS DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE - 4 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

This release presents an outstanding studio album made by Coleman Hawkins in 1960. Night Hawk showcases him with fellow saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, a younger player who obviously admired Hawk. Coleman Hawkins 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. Hawk died on May 19, 1969, at the age of 64.

In addition to leading his own bands and making many recordings as a leader, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (1922-1986) had worked in the bands of Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie. He played in the swing, bop, hard bop, Latin jazz, and soul jazz genres. Night Hawk is a quintet album, showcasing both saxophonists with the support of a strong rhythm section composed of Tommy Flanagan on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums.

At this time Ron Carter had yet to join the Miles Davis Quintet, which would lead him to fame (his first recordings with Miles date from 1963). Hawkins and Carter would only coincide on one more occasion in the recording studios, for the making of Hawk’s album The Hawk Relaxes, on February 28, 1961. Tommy Flanagan, on the other hand, was one of the saxophonist’s regular collaborators, both in the studio and live (their conjunct recordings span the period of 1958 to 1963).

PERSONNEL:

COLEMAN HAWKINS &
EDDIE “LOCKJAW” DAVIS, tenor sax
TOMMY FLANAGAN, piano
RON CARTER, bass
GUS JOHNSON, drums

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, December 30, 1960.
Original session recorded by Rudy Van Gelder

and produced by Bob Weinstock

Side A:
1 NIGHT HAWK (Coleman Hawkins) 10:32
2 THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE (Marty Symes-Isham Jones) 8:17

Side B:
1 IN A MELLOW TONE (Duke Ellington) 6:48
2 DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME (Henry Nemo) 8:38
3 PEDALIN’ (Ken McIntyre) 6:35