LIONEL HAMPTON — Golden Vibes (review)

LIONEL HAMPTON — Golden Vibes album cover Album · 1959 · Swing Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
js
This is a nice mellow set of mostly ballads by Lionel Hampton that was probably marketed at the time as a sort of background music for sophisticates, but this is still a pure jazz record, not ‘easy listening’. Hampton is backed on here by a small combo and a five piece horn section, but they mostly stay out of the way while Lionel lets those mallets fly.

The tunes on here are old standards we have heard many times before, but Hampton’s flawless and swingin interpretations breathe new life into each one. On ‘The More I See You‘, guitarist Bill Mackel doubles the vibe melody for that exotic ‘George Shearing sound’. Most of the tunes on here are in a mellow slow ballad tempo, but ‘Vibraholiday’ goes into double time for some needed variation, like wise ‘Just You, Just Me’ picks up the pace as well. If you like these classic jazz standards, you will probably enjoy Hampton’s interpretations that are pure swing in all its elegance and refinement.

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