Program #324 (April 25 at 8:00pm)
Lionel Hampton was the first jazz vibraphonist and was one of the jazz giants beginning in the mid- 30s. He has achieved the difficult feat of being musically open-minded (even recording Giant Steps ) without changing his basic swing style.
Hamp started out as a drummer, playing with the Chicago Defender Newsboys Band as a youth. His original idol was Jimmy Bertrand, a 20s drummer who occasionally played xylophone. Hampton played on the West Coast with such groups as Curtis Mosby s Blue Blowers, Reb Spikes, and Paul Howard s Quality Serenaders (with whom he made his recording debut in 1929) before joining Les Hite s band, which for a period accompanied Louis Armstrong.