COLEMAN HAWKINS - The Complete Coleman Hawkins on Keynote (1994) 4CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Subtitled "The Complete Coleman Hawkins," the 61 songs on these four CDs represent Hawkins' complete output for Keynote Records recorded between January and December of 1944 with Teddy Wilson and Earl Hines as part of the Coleman Hawkins Quintet, the Cozy Cole All-Stars, Coleman Hawkins and His Sax Ensemble and the All-American Four, Charlie Shavers' All American Five, and George Wettling's New Yorkers -- Hawkins and Wettling's first contact went back close to 20 years, to the Roseland Ballroom. At the time, Hawkins had given up trying to make it as the leader of a big band, and had returned to playing with small groups in the clubs along New York's 52nd Street. A joint project of PolyGram and Nippon Phonogram of Japan, this set is loaded with previously unissued takes and tracks from Hawkins' Keynote library, which also features Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge and Billy Taylor. From the opening bars of two different previously unissued takes of "I Only Have Eyes For You," the set shows its worth, presenting outtakes that are equal in value to any of their released counterparts -- Wilson and Hawkins perform superbly on all three versions, with markedly different performances on each, pretty much representing the way all of the outtakes here are fully justified. Each disc has more than its share of worthwhile rarities and previously unreleased cuts, and one leads into the next so well that it is difficult to take in just one of the these four discs at a time. From Disc Two onward, there is also more improvisation than one is accustomed to in jazz recordings if this era, owing to the fact that many of the sessions used the 12-inch master disc format, which allowed for just over five minutes' playing time, nearly 60% more than the usual three minutes-and-change, giving all of the players a chance to stretch out in ways closer to their usual stage and radio performances (though I wouldn't change the various three-minute versions of "Bean at the Met" on Disc One for any amount of money). The sound is generally superb, with an intimate, live-in-the-studio ambience and very little in the way of noise, considering the age of the recordings (no enhanced noise reduction of any kind has been used on this set).  Bruce Eder  

Disc: 1 

COLEMAN HAWKINS QUINTET FEATURING TEDDY WILSON
Roy Eldridge (t), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), Billy Taylor (b), Cozy Cole (d); New York, January 31, 1944
 
1. I Only Have Eyes For You
2. I Only Have Eyes For You
3. I Only Have Eyes For You
4. 'S Wonderful 
5. 'S Wonderful
6. I'm In The Mood For Love 
7. Bean At The Met
8. Bean At The Met
9. Bean At The Met

COLEMAN HAWKINS QUARTET
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson, (p), Isreael Crosby (b), Cozy Cole (d); New York, February 17, 1944

10. Flame Thrower
11. Imagination
12. Night And Day
13. Cattin' At Keynote

COZY COLE ALL STARS
Joe Thomas (t), Trummy Young (tb), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Earl Hines (p), Teddy Walters (g), Billy Taylor (b), Cozy Cole (d); New York, February 22, 1944

14. Blue Moon
15. Blue Moon
16. Father Co-Operates
17. Father Co-Operates
18. Father Co-Operates
19. Father Co-Operates

Disc: 2   

COZY COLE ALL STARS
Joe Thomas (t), Trummy Young (tb), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Earl Hines (p), Teddy Walters (g), Billy Taylor (b), Cozy Cole (d); New York, February 22, 1944

1. Just One More Chance
2. Just One More Chance
3. Thru' For The Night
4. Thru' For The Night

COLEMAN HAWKINS AND HIS SAX ENSEMBLE
Tab Smith (as, arr), Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas (ts), Harry Carney (bs), Johhny Guarnieri (p), Al Lucas (b), Sid Catlett (d); New York, May 24, 1944

5. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
6. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
7. Three Little Words
8. Battle Of The Saxes
9. Louise
10. Louise

Disc: 3

COLEMAN HAWKINS ALL AMERICAN FOUR
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), John Kirby (b), Sid Catlett (d); New York, May 29, 1944

1. Make Believe
2. Make Believe
3. Don't Blame Me
4. Don't Blame Me
5. Just One Of Those Things
6. Hallelujah

COLEMAN HAWKINS QUINTET
Buck Clayton (t), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson (b), Slam Stewart (b), Denzil Best (d); New York, October 17, 1944

7. I'm Yours
8. I'm Yours
9. I'm Yours
10. Under A Blanket Of Blue
11. Beyond The Blue Horizon 
12. Beyond The Blue Horizon
13. Beyond The Blue Horizon
14. A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
15. A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
16. A Shanty In Old Shanty Town

Disc: 4   

CHARLIE SHAVERS' ALL AMERICAN FIVE
Charlie Shavers (t), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Teddy Wilson, (p), Billy Taylor (b), Denzil Best (d); New York, October 18, 1944

1. My Man
2. My Man
3. El Salon De Gutbucket
4. El Salon De Gutbucket
5. Embraceable You
6. Undecided
7. Undecided
8. Undecided

GEORGE WETTLING'S NEW YORKERS
Joe Thomas (t), Jack Teagarden (tb, vcl), Hank D'Amico (cl), Coleman Hwkins (ts), Herman Chittison (p), Billy Taylor (b), George Wettling (d); New York, December 12, 1944

9. Home
10. Home
11. Too Marvelous For Words
12. Too Marvelous For Words
13. Too Marvelous For Words
14. You Brought A New Kind Of Love 
15. You Brought A New Kind Of Love
16. Somebody Loves Me

Recording Date
January, 1944 - December, 1944