By John M. Crossett III
Lionel Hampton. — Newport Uproar
Pure Pleasure / RCA LSP-3891 Released: 2017 Music: 3.5 Sound: 3.5 I will freely admit, I’ve never been a big Lionel Hampton fan. Never cared for musicians who felt they had to pander to the crowd for appreciation (if the music isn’t enough, then playing the crowd can’t help). But I may have misjudged Lionel. “Newport Uproar,” recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1967, is an album full of well played big band jazz music featuring -- besides Lionel on vibes and piano -- such well known jazz luminaries such as Snooky Young and Joe Newman on trumpet, Al Grey, Brett Woodman and Benny Powell on trombone, Jerome Richardson and Frank Foster on reeds, George Duviver on bass, and a host of others (even Illinois Jacquet makes a guest tenor sax appearance on one number). Many of those names will be familiar to jazz fans as members of other, better known, big bands. But here, joining with Lionel (who keeps his antics to a minimum), they provide the Newport crowd with some excellent big band jazz. The playing is tight, the music flows, the feel is palpable. And the live recording by RCA is excellent. Add is all up and its an album that can be enjoyed by anyone with a love of big band jazz with a modern touch.
As I noted, the recording was done by RCA. Now, any music lover, and every audiophile, knows RCA’s rep for doing recordings right. After all, their classical recordings are still considered some of the best ever. So their engineers knew their stuff. In this case, it was Ed Begley behind the console. This album has a wide soundstage with just enough depth to make it sound realistic. And while the instruments come across well enough, they are not quite crystal clear. But they do blend well with each other, with no frequencies standing out, so the feeling of listening to the band as they sounded on the stage in 1967 comes through loud and clear.
If you’re a Hampton fan, you’ll love this reissue. If you, like me, have never given Lionel his due, maybe this record will change your mind. Very highly recommended. You can follow John M. Crossett III at his Facebook page, Aural Musings.
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