Coleman Hawkins: "A Documentary" (Riverside)

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

WOW youll never believe what i found (for 10 bucks)- i never knew this existed......this 2-lp riverside set, its coleman hawkins talking about back in the day and fletcher henderson and all kinds of important stuff, it says liner notes by orrin keepnews- he was the producer though, was he just slapping his name on it or did someone else do all the actual musical content work for the album and keepknews just took the credit, i dont know- but antyways i cant wait to listen to this one, its bean telling it how it is- i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

[MartyJazz]

WOW youll never believe what i found (for 10 bucks)- i never knew this existed......this 2-lp riverside set, its coleman hawkins talking about back in the day and fletcher henderson and all kinds of important stuff, it says liner notes by orrin keepnews- he was the producer though, was he just slapping his name on it or did someone else do all the actual musical content work for the album and keepknews just took the credit, i dont know- but antyways i cant wait to listen to this one, its bean telling it how it is- i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

I found this 2 LP set back in the early '70s, interestingly with a white label disc one and a blue label disc two. Haven't listened to it in years so I can't tell you exactly what you can anticipate, but reading your post with its overflowing enthusiasm makes me want to give it a re-listen.

[brownie]

i wonder if he has his saxophone and plays saxophone-examples of what hes talking about, oh my god that would be so phat!!!

It's all talks but you'll enjoy it.

You really were lucky with that one. Searched for it for years and never found a decent copy. A good man from the Organissimo forums early days - he has not posted here in a very long time - burned a copy for me.

Bill Grauer and Paul Bacon did the interviews. Hawkins was in good spirits and he tells some very interesting stories...

[mikeweil]

That it's talk only may be the reason why Fantasy never reissued this - I certainly would like to hear this!

[JSngry]

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

[Stereojack]

Nice find, chewy. This is a very rare item - in all my years as a record dealer, I've only seen this a couple of times.

[brownie]

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

[Christiern]

Thanks, Chewy, for reminding me. I have now dusted off my album and will be listening to it today. Fortunately, although the cover reveals my 50 years of having this set, the discs are pristine—having access to the real thing , I think I played it twice, at most.

[stevebop]

I also have a copy of this 2 disc set, thanks to our own Stereo Jack who gave it to me for a birthday present. A very long time ago. I've burned it onto CD and listen to it every now and then.

Hawk insists that he was not born in St. Louis but on an ocean liner, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while his parents were coming back from a European trip??? Has that ever been verified?

[ghost of miles]

Thanks, Chewy, for reminding me. I have now dusted off my album and will be listening to it today. Fortunately, although the cover reveals my 50 years of having this set, the discs are pristine—having access to the real thing , I think I played it twice, at most.

Great find, Chewy, and thanks so much for posting an image of the cover, Chris.

[jazztrain]

Chewy: Nice find. Never have come across a copy.

Steve: No to the born on the ocean liner question. Here's some information from John Chilton's "Song of the Hawk."

>>>

Late in life Hawkins became mysterious about his place of birth, and touchy about giving the date on which he was born. In 1956 he said he was born at sea, while his mother and father were returning from Europe: "On the Atlantic Ocean, on a boat. To me it's hard to say actually where my real birth would be." The truth was not quite as romantic. Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born on 21 November 1904 at 1713 Angelique in the Buchanan District of Saint Joseph, Missouri; he was delivered by Dr Preston Edwards. Coleman's parents, William and Cordelia, lived at 1713 Angelique with Cordelia's parents..."

>>>

I also have a copy of this 2 disc set, thanks to our own Stereo Jack who gave it to me for a birthday present. A very long time ago. I've burned it onto CD and listen to it every now and then.

Hawk insists that he was not born in St. Louis but on an ocean liner, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while his parents were coming back from a European trip??? Has that ever been verified?

[AllenLowe]

interesting to see that cover, as somehow I recall a gatefold - am I confused or was there more than one issue of this?

[clifford_thornton]

I'd be curious to hear this as well. Nice find, chewy.

[AllenLowe]

actually, I may be confusing it with another Riverside narrative double album - I have one of Henry Miller somewhere on my shelves.

as an aside, there is precious little interview material with Hawk - though there's a nice Q and A in one of those old collections like JazzMen (it's probably not that one, but similar); also the Chilton bio is excellent.

Edited January 5, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Christiern]

Plain old double LP set.

Allen, I'm surprised that you don't have this Riverside album...

or, do you?

[clifford_thornton]

I think there needs to be a Riverside sampler with Hawk interviews, Bertolt Brecht, and race-car/train sounds interspersed. It would be rad!

Edited January 5, 2010 by clifford_thornton

[paul secor]

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

PD was also the person who provided me with a copy of this. So three of us owe him our thanks.

Incidentally, Riverside also issued as single LP, Satchmo and Me: Lil Armstrong's Own Story - A Jazz Doumentary. Have an LP copy of that one.

[AllenLowe]

forgot about that - I think I have the Lil Armstrong - the Henry Miller I have is very scratched - and I never saw that Eric Bentley before.

Reissue time. Anybody for a bootleg series? How about we call it:

"Keep Away from Keepnews."

(or Grousing with Grauer?)

Chuck, you feel like moving to Andorra?

Edited January 5, 2010 by AllenLowe

[mikeweil]

P.D. gave away so many copies Christiern could ask for royalties ... really lived up to his board name.

Would be a nice Mosaic box set, all those interviews - Hawk, Henry Miller, Brecht - who else was in that series? I mean, it would be a helluva fascinating box set!

Edited January 5, 2010 by mikeweil

[clifford_thornton]

P.D. gave away so many copies Christiern could ask for royalties ... really lived up to his board name.

[Christiern]

I think there needs to be a Riverside sampler with Hawk interviews, Bertolt Brecht, and race-car/train sounds interspersed. It would be rad!

Prestige also issued some interesting non-jazz albums, ranging from Burgess Meredith reading Ray Bradbury stories to a Hermione Baddeley comedy album and Billy Dee Williams singing cabaret songs.

[brownie]

A great find and a fascinating listen! P.D. (remember him?) was my hookup, and I still feel gratitude.

P.D. was also the one who provided me with a copy of this item.

I had not asked for anything but I mentioned in one of the early O. threads that 'A Documentary' was one album I was really looking for.

P.D. asked me for my adress and a few days later an envelope arrived at home with the copy. I emailed him with profuse thanks and asked him if there was anything I could get him in return? No reply...

PD was also the person who provided me with a copy of this. So three of us owe him our thanks.

Incidentally, Riverside also issued as single LP, Satchmo and Me: Lil Armstrong's Own Story - A Jazz Doumentary. Have an LP copy of that one.

I'm in the same boat. Bean copy from P.D., Lil L.P. original purchased during my collecting years.

[Shrdlu]

This definitely should be reissued, or put online.

After all, we got the two interviews with Prez - one by Chris, and the other by François wotsisname in Paris.

[AllenLowe]

Postif?

[brownie]

Postif?

François Postif, indeed!

François and I cowrote a series of articles in the late '50s.

I was even supposed to be along when he interviewed Lester Young at the Hotel d'Angleterre on the Rue de la Boétie (off the Champs-Elysées avenue) but could not make it because I had to complete work on some damn highschool studies