Coleman Hawkins - Alive! At the Village Gate 1962 / 2CD set

It was a memorable few nights in August 1962 when these performances were captured in stereo live at New Yorks famed Village Gate. Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, then in his late 50s, was still a force to be reckoned with and, accompanied by a superb Tommy Flanagan-Major Holley-Eddie Locke rhythm section, he was on song, stretching out gloriously on the changes of All the Things You Are and Mack the Knife, on which Flanagan also shines particularly, to pick just two examples of the quality music created.

This exceptional quartet was joined on one of these nights by Hawkins old sparring partner, the unrelenting Roy Eldridge, and the revered, one-of-a-kind Johnny Hodges, whose alto added a sensuous contrast to Eldridges combustible trumpet and Hawkins magisterial tenor. The format was simple; a blowing session with some very extended performances. But with jazzmen of this quality around and reputations to uphold, the healthily competitive edge and mutual respect yielded musical moments to remember.

Tracklisting:

CD 1

01. All the Things You Are (Hammerstein II-Kern) 8:03
02. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (Traditional. Arr. by Coleman Hawkins) 10:25
03. Mack the Knife (Weill-Brecht) 8:36
04. Its the Talk of the Town (Livingston-Symes-Neiburg) 9:13
05. Bean and the Boys [Lover Come Back to Me] (Hawkins) 6:59
06. If I Had You (Shapiro-Campbell-Connelly) 8:28
07. Caravan (Ellington-Tizol-Mills) 10:21

CD 2

01. Satin Doll (Ellington-Strayhorn-Mercer) 11:07
02. Perdido (Tizol-Drake-Lengsfelder) 11:25
03. The Rabbit in Jazz (Hawkins-Hodges) 16:41
04. Mack the Knife (Weil-Brecht) [Alternate version] 8:22
05. Its the Talk of the Town (Livingston-Symes-Neiburg) [Alternate version] 7:07
06. Bean and the Boys (Hawkins) [Alternate version] 6:52

Sources:

CD 1, tracks #1-4, from the album "Hawkins! Alive! At the Village Gate" (Verve V6-8509)

CD 2, tracks 1-3, from the album "Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate!" (Verve V6-8504)

CD 1, tracks #5-7 & CD 2, tracks #4-6 were not issued on the original LP configuration