articleHampton, Lionel (1909- ), American jazz bandleader and pioneering vibraphone player, who led some of the best big bands of the 1930s and 1940s.
Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and was taught the drums at a Catholic school in Wisconsin. He made his first records in 1929, drumming, playing piano, and singing, and in 1930 recorded his first vibraphone solo in a session with Louis Armstrong. He joined the quartet led by Benny Goodman (1936-1940) and recorded with Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie, and Coleman Hawkins. Hampton led his own big band from 1940: his most famous song was their debut record “Flying Home” (1942, written in collaboration with Goodman). He appeared in films (including The Benny Goodman Story, 1955) and toured Europe and Japan extensively from the 1950s. The Lionel Hampton Orchestra became the longest-surviving jazz big band in the mid-1980s. In 1981, Hampton became a professor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was also the United Nations Ambassador of Music in 1985, and a human rights commissioner from 1984-1986. He has continued to perform into his nineties.
A natural showman, Hampton’s enthusiasm and discipline created bands that were brash and exciting, with horns braying over thunderous rhythms. His band featured many musicians who later found solo fame (including Betty Carter, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, and Dinah Washington) and was the first to use organ and electric bass. Hampton was the first major jazz vibraphone player, playing in a very rhythmic style, with energy and melodic flair.
Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and was taught the drums at a Catholic school in Wisconsin. He made his first records in 1929, drumming, playing piano, and singing, and in 1930 recorded his first vibraphone solo in a session with Louis Armstrong. He joined the quartet led by Benny Goodman (1936-1940) and recorded with Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie, and Coleman Hawkins. Hampton led his own big band from 1940: his most famous song was their debut record “Flying Home” (1942, written in collaboration with Goodman). He appeared in films (including The Benny Goodman Story, 1955) and toured Europe and Japan extensively from the 1950s. The Lionel Hampton Orchestra became the longest-surviving jazz big band in the mid-1980s. In 1981, Hampton became a professor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was also the United Nations Ambassador of Music in 1985, and a human rights commissioner from 1984-1986. He has continued to perform into his nineties.
A natural showman, Hampton’s enthusiasm and discipline created bands that were brash and exciting, with horns braying over thunderous rhythms. His band featured many musicians who later found solo fame (including Betty Carter, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, and Dinah Washington) and was the first to use organ and electric bass. Hampton was the first major jazz vibraphone player, playing in a very rhythmic style, with energy and melodic flair.
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