Lionel Hampton – Chameleon (45 Edit)
Lionel Hampton
Listen/Download – Lionel Hampton – Chameleon (45 Edit)
Greetings all.
I hope everyone – at least those of you so effected – is weathering the heat wave in good health.
It has been brutally hot, and occasionally humid as well here in the Northeast…the kind of hot where it takes miles of high speed driving before the air conditioning is able to cool down the inside of the car, which is OK too, since driving with the windows opening is like watching a cake bake from inside the oven.
It’s been a busy week hereabouts, with my beloved – Mrs Corners – heading into the hospital to meet her own health challenge this weekend. It’s getting to the point where we may have to look into bionic replacement parents to care for our children while we spend all of our time with our friends in the medical profession.
It is surely a drag, but since you gotta do, what you gotta do (as they say), we gotta do this, so keep your fingers crossed.
I hope everyone has been digging the latest edition of Funky16Corners Radio, and I thought it would be fitting to close out the week with something else that is both jazzy and funky.
The tune in question is something written by a younger jazz master, interpreted by one of his forefathers in a late career (successful) attempt at relevance, that being a very tasty rendering of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ as performed by the mighty Lionel Hampton.
Mr. Hampton’s funky sides have appeared in this space before and I have previously rhapsodized about how groovy it was that a man who came to prominence caressing the vibes alongside Benny Goodman in the 1930s lit things up again in the 60s and 70s with all things soulful and funky.
On both his own Glad-Hamp imprint, as well as Brunswick Records, Hampton got down with some decidedly contemporary sounds with both small groups and his own big band.
I had previously heard – and dug – a live, big band version of ‘Chameleon’ by Hampton, when I was going through a friend’s sale box and discovered a studio version of the tune on Glad-Hamp. Fortunately for me another friend happened to have his portable turntable there and I was able to give the record a spin, discovering that the studio version was just as tasty – if not tastier – that the one I already had. The dude in question was letting the record go for a very reasonable price, so I grabbed it for my record box and brought it home.
So, I hope you dig it, and remember to tune in to the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio, this Friday night at 9PM EST, with the episode available here for download on Saturday.
Have a great weekend and I’ll be back on Monday.
Peace
Larry
Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press
PS Head over to Iron Leg for something by the Small Faces
Themocracy
Larry,
Great tune,Hope all “The Corners” are good!
KTF
Mr DD
Really digging this one Larry. Is That a Fender Rhodes? Very cool.
All the best to Mrs Corners, hope she’s feeling better.
I can also relate to the feeling of driving in the heat. A friend always says, the worse about the Florida heat are the cars.
That’s quite nice. I got to see Hampton play a few months before he died. He couldn’t walk, and could barely stand. He could sing, but couldn’t talk. Strokes will do that do you. But he could still play, not as fast, but his tone and phrasing were delightfully intact.
This is a great piece of vinyl. I had to know who was in the band, but was only able to find that the track was probably: recorded in 1974, in New York, with unknown studio players. Whoever they were, they were hot.
Thanks.
Maybe someday you can have your very self turned into a phone app, the next best thing to the bionic replacement parents.
Choice!