Fellow saxophonist Lester Young, known as "Pres", commented in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review: "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the President first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads."
One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, as Joachim E. Berendt explained: "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn".
Hawkins was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, in 1904. Although some sources say 1901, there is no evidence to prove an earlier date; instead, there is record of Hawkins's parents' first child, a girl, being born in 1901 and dying at the age of two, possibly basis for the mistaken belief. He was named Coleman after his mother Cordelia's maiden name.
He attended high school in Chicago, then in Topeka, Kansas at Topeka High School. He later stated that he studied harmony and composition for two years at Washburn College in Topeka while still attending high school. In his youth he played piano and cello and started playing saxophone at the age of nine; by the age of fourteen he was playing around eastern Kansas.
Hawkins's first major gig was with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921, and he was with the band full time from April 1922 to 1923, when he settled in New York City. In the Jazz Hounds, he coincided with Garvin Bushell, Everett Robbins, Bubber Miley and Herb Flemming, among others. Hawkins joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, where he remained until 1934, sometimes doubling on clarinet and bass saxophone. Hawkins's playing changed significantly during Louis Armstrong's tenure with the Henderson Orchestra (1924–25). In the late 1920s, Hawkins also participated in some of the earliest interracial recording sessions with the Mound City Blue Blowers. During his time with Henderson, he became a star soloist with an increasing amount of solos space on records. While with the band, he and Henry "Red" Allen recorded a series of small group sides for ARC (on their Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, and Oriole labels). Hawkins also recorded a number of solo recordings, with either piano or with a pick-up band of Henderson's musicians in 1933–34, just prior to his period in Europe. He was also featured on a Benny Goodman session on February 2, 1934 for Columbia, which also featured Mildred Bailey as guest vocalist.
In late 1934, Hawkins accepted an invitation to play with Jack Hylton's orchestra in London, and toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, performing and recording with Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter in Paris in 1937. Following his return to the United States, on October 11, 1939, he recorded a two-chorus performance of the pop standard "Body and Soul", which he had been performing at Bert Kelly's New York venue, Kelly's Stables. In a landmark recording of the swing era, recorded as an afterthought at the session, Hawkins ignores almost all of the melody, with only the first four bars stated in a recognizable fashion. In its exploration of harmonic structure it is considered by many to be the next evolutionary step in jazz recording after Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues" in 1928.
After an unsuccessful attempt to establish a big band, he led a combo at Kelly's Stables on Manhattan's 52nd Street with Thelonious Monk, Oscar Pettiford, Miles Davis, and Max Roach as sidemen. Hawkins always had a keen ear for new talent and styles, and he was the leader on what is generally considered to have been the first ever bebop recording session in 1944 with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach. Later he toured with Howard McGhee and recorded with J. J. Johnson and Fats Navarro. He also toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic.
After 1948 Hawkins divided his time between New York and Europe, making numerous freelance recordings. In 1948 Hawkins recorded "Picasso", an early piece for unaccompanied saxophone.
Hawkins directly influenced many bebop performers, and later in his career, recorded or performed with such adventurous musicians as Sonny Rollins, who considered him as his main influence, and John Coltrane. He appears on the Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (Jazzland/Riverside) record. In 1960 he recorded on Max Roach's We Insist! suite.
In the 1950s, Hawkins performed with more traditional musicians such as Henry "Red" Allen and Roy Eldridge with whom he appeared at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival and recorded Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster with fellow tenor saxophonist Ben Webster along with Oscar Peterson (piano), Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), and Alvin Stoller (drums). In the 1960s, he appeared regularly at the Village Vanguard in Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Hawkins had began to drink heavily and his recording output began to wane. However, he did manage to record some notable albums, including an album for the Impulse! label with Duke Ellington. His last recording was in 1967.
With failing health, Hawkins succumbed to pneumonia in 1969 and is interred in the Yew Plot at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
The Song of the Hawk, a 1990 biography written by British jazz historian John Chilton, chronicles Hawkins's career as one of the most significant jazz performers of the 20th century.
Prisoner Of Love
Coleman Hawkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doesn't belong to me
Someone who can't be faithful
Knows that I have to be
Wonder if I am wrong to give her my loyalty
Why should I be a lone soul
Why can't I be my own soul
Too weak to break the chains that bind me
I need no shackles to remind me
I'm just a prisner of love
For one comand I stand and wait now
From one who's master of my Fate now
I can't escape for it's too late now
I'm just a prisoner of love
What's the good of my caring if someone is sharing
Those arms with me
Although she has another
I can't have another
For I'm not free
She's in my dreams awake or sleeping
Up on my knees to her I'm creeping
My very life is in her keeping
I'm just a prisoner of love.
Love.
The song "Prisoner of Love" by Coleman Hawkins is a ballad about unrequited love and the pain and struggle of loyalty to someone who does not reciprocate those feelings. The singer of the song is evidently in love with someone who cannot be faithful to them, leaving the singer feeling trapped and confined within their lovelorn state. The singer ponders whether they are wrong to remain loyal, despite their beloved's apparent disinterest.
Throughout the song, the singer refers to themselves as a "prisoner of love," emphasizing the feelings of confinement and powerlessness. The metaphorical chains that bind the singer to their unrequited love are too strong to break, rendering the singer hopeless and unable to escape from their unrequited love. Despite the fact that the singer's love interest is not free to pursue a relationship with them, the singer cannot help but remain loyal to their beloved, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone that I belong to
I am in a relationship with someone who I feel I am meant to be with
Doesn't belong to me
But that person does not feel the same way about me and is not fully committed to me
Someone who can't be faithful
That person has a history of not being faithful to me
Knows that I have to be
While I feel obligated to be faithful to that person
Wonder if I am wrong to give her my loyalty
I question whether it is the right decision to remain loyal to someone who does not reciprocate my feelings
Why should I be a lone soul
I wonder why I am destined to be alone
Why can't I be my own soul
Why can't I be independent and make my own choices
Alone from night to night you'll find me
I spend every night alone, with no one to share my life with
Too weak to break the chains that bind me
I feel powerless to change my situation, despite wanting to break free
I need no shackles to remind me
I am fully aware of my predicament and do not need any reminders
I'm just a prisoner of love
My love for this unfaithful person has trapped me and made me feel helpless
For one command I stand and wait now
I am willing to do anything for this person, even if it means waiting for a command
From one who's master of my Fate now
I have given up control of my own life to this person who has power over me
I can't escape for it's too late now
I feel trapped and incapable of escaping this situation
What's the good of my caring if someone is sharing
I question the value of caring for someone who is not fully committed to me and may be sharing their love with someone else
Those arms with me
Even if that person is physically with me and holding me, I feel emotionally disconnected
Although she has another
That person is in another relationship
I can't have another
But I am unable to pursue another relationship because of my loyalty to this person
For I'm not free
I am emotionally tied to this person and am not free to pursue other options
She's in my dreams awake or sleeping
I can't stop thinking about this person, even when I am asleep
Up on my knees to her I'm creeping
I am willing to grovel and beg for the affection of this person
My very life is in her keeping
My happiness and overall well-being is entirely dependent on this one person
I'm just a prisoner of love.
Overall, my love for someone who is not fully committed to me has trapped me and made me feel helpless
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ENRIQUE ELIAS GARCIA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Phil Pryor
What a wonder, this beauty of a song in the fingers of masters of the tenor saxophone. The eternal beauty of art in music can't be bettered here, as we have tone, technique, taste, subtle time and tremendous interpretation all wrapped and sealed here. Tops.
Nick Dellow
There isn't one word I could add, nor one I would want to take away, from your excellent summing up of one of my favourite tracks of all time
Butch Alano
with this line up,you could never go wrong.....AWSOME!
Mehmet Numan INAL
Fabulous performance of Mr. Coleman Hawkins... Solid as a rock... But my info says; the track recorded October 16, 1957 in L.A.
Tibor Farkas
Heavenly sounds
OSCAR LUIS FEMOPASE
CUANTA HERMOSURA DE SONIDOS TIENEN ESTOS DOS REYES DEL JAZZ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡¡
Anne DeVere Harper
sweet tune and nice interpretation!
Leonardo Squirtavio Ottavo
Prigioniero dell'amore. 💘 Stanotte ancora di più ❤️🍾🥂
lam ino
One is wrapped up in the warmth of this sound
Vladimir Borodkin
Coleman is blessed!