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.
The Way You Look Tonight
Coleman Hawkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight.
Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.
Lovely, never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it?
Cause I love you
Just the way you look tonight.
Mm, mm, mm, mm,
Just the way you look tonight
The lyrics of Coleman Hawkins All Stars's song The Way You Look Tonight is a beautiful tribute to the way the singer's beloved looks. According to the song, there are moments when the singer feels low and the world seems cold, but the mere thought of how their beloved looks lifts their spirits and makes them feel a glow. The singer watches their beloved and thinks of the way they look tonight, and it brings so much joy to their heart.
The second stanza of the song describes the physical attributes of the singer's beloved: their smile is warm, and their cheeks are soft. To the singer, there is nothing more they can do but love their beloved and the way they look tonight. The third stanza is where the lyrics become more emotional; the singer speaks of their partner's tenderness as they speak or interact with one another. Their partner's laugh is something that touches the singer's heart and brings to light how much they cherish their loved one.
The final stanza is the climax of the entire song: the singer asks that their partner never change how they look or how they act. They implore their lover to keep their breathless charm just the way it is. The singer loves their partner just the way they are, and it is evident in the way they sing these lyrics with a sense of urgency and devotion.
Line by Line Meaning
Some day, when I'm awfully low,
One day I'll be feeling really down
When the world is cold,
The world will seem like a cold place for me
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
But I'll feel a spark of happiness if I think about you
And the way you look tonight.
And how beautiful you look in that moment will give me some comfort.
Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
You are truly beautiful, your warm smile adds to your beauty too
And your cheeks so soft,
The softness of your cheeks compliments your beauty as well
There is nothing for me but to love you,
I have no choice but to love you
And the way you look tonight.
Because the beauty you emanate in that moment is undeniable.
With each word your tenderness grows,
Every word you say is filled with such warmth and tenderness
Tearing my fear apart
And it just erodes all of my fears away
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
Your laugh, even the way it makes your nose wrinkle, enthralls me
It touches my foolish heart.
And my heart, no matter how foolish it may be, can't resist
Lovely, never, ever change.
You are so lovely and perfect, that there is no reason for you to ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Your charm has always left me breathless, please keep it forever.
Won't you please arrange it?
I would be grateful if you could keep your charm attainable for me.
Cause I love you
The reason I ask is because I really do love you
Just the way you look tonight.
And just the way you look in this moment, in this instance.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: DOROTHY FIELDS, JEROME KERN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind