Bennie Moten, Piano, 1984, Kansas City, MO
Bennie studied piano with two of Scott Joplin's pupils, and by 1918 was working professionally as the leader of his own ragtime trio. In 1922 he had added two more pieces and issued their first recordings, playing mostly blues. Within ten years Moten's group had grown and featured such players as Walter Page, Hot Lips Page, Eddie Durham, Ben Webster, Buster Smith, Count Basie, and Jimmy Rushing. This band actually established the Kansas City or Southwest style of orchestral jazz. The rrangements they played (by Eddie Barefield, Durham, and Basie), were the most advanced of their time. After Moten's death, the band was led by Basie and Buster Moten for a brief time. During the late '30s the band gradually became the Count Basie orchestra with many new faces.
Hampton Hawes, Piano, 1928, Los Angeles, CA
Hawes, who was self taught, played with Dexter Gordon and Sonny Criss while still in his teens. In the early '50s, while with Howard McGhee's band, he worked with Charlie Parker who strongly influenced his music. At this time he also performed and recorded with Shorty Rogers and Howard Rumsey. After army service in the mid '50s he led a trio with Red Mitchell and Chuck Thompson. In 1958 he got involved with drugs and spent five years in prison. During the late '60s Hampton spent much time in Europe where he toured and recorded with various groups. His autobiography, which was published in 1974, won a Deems Taylor Award. Hawes was noted for his rhythmic playing at fast tempos and articulation of rapid melodic lines and playing with locked hands. For a time he experimented with electronic keyboards, but at the end of his career he was again playing piano. Hampton Hawes died in 1977.
