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.
Wanting you
Coleman Hawkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you are that someone
You know the truth of my story
You must believe what you see
I, too, may someday love someone
From somewhere there'll come one
One who will hear the same story
Wanting you, every day I am wanting you
Every night I am longing to
Hold you close to my eager breast
Wanting love, in that heaven I'm dreaming of
Makes that heaven seem far above
Any hope that I'll gain my quest
Dreams are vain, but I cling to the
Merest chance that you may hear me
Dreams are vain, for whenever I wake
I never find you near me
Wanting you, nothing else in this world will do
In this world you are all that I adore,
All I adore.
The lyrics to Coleman Hawkins's song "Wanting You" are about a person who is deeply longing for someone they love. The singer of the song is pouring out their heart to the person they desire, urging them to believe and understand their feelings. The lyrics convey an intense sense of yearning and devotion, with lines like "Wanting love, in that heaven I'm dreaming of / Makes that heaven seem far above / Any hope that I'll gain my quest." The singer feels that their love is impossible, yet they cannot help but desire their beloved.
The lyrics express a poignant sense of vulnerability, with the singer admitting to their own unrequited feelings and fears of never finding love. The last lines, "Wanting you, nothing else in this world will do / In this world you are all that I adore, / All I adore" reveal just how deeply this person yearns for their beloved, suggesting that their desire is all-consuming and overwhelming.
Overall, the lyrics to "Wanting You" convey a sense of raw emotional intensity, capturing the feelings of longing and desire that many people can relate to. The song is a beautiful expression of human emotion, conveying the pain and joy of loving someone deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
My heart is aching for someone
I am deeply yearning for someone to love.
And you are that someone
I believe that you are the one I have been searching for.
You know the truth of my story
You understand and acknowledge the sincerity of my feelings.
You must believe what you see
It is important that you believe my affections are genuine.
I, too, may someday love someone
I acknowledge the possibility that I may fall in love with someone else in the future.
From somewhere there'll come one
Someday, I may meet someone who will capture my heart.
One who will hear the same story
I hope to meet someone who understands and relates to my experiences.
That you're telling me.
Just as you are listening to me now.
Wanting you, every day I am wanting you
I desire you deeply each and every day.
Every night I am longing to
My affection for you is present and strong throughout the day and into the night.
Hold you close to my eager breast
I yearn to have you in my arms and to feel your heartbeat against mine.
Wanting love, in that heaven I'm dreaming of
My dream is to find true love that will fulfill my every desire and need.
Makes that heaven seem far above
The thought of attaining such a love feels distant and unattainable to me.
Any hope that I'll gain my quest
I fear that I will never find the love I am searching for.
Dreams are vain, but I cling to the
Although I know it may be futile, I still hold onto the hope that my dreams will come true.
Merest chance that you may hear me
I hold onto the slightest possibility that you may reciprocate my feelings.
Dreams are vain, for whenever I wake
I realize that my hopes and dreams may never become a reality.
I never find you near me
In reality, you are not here with me, and I am alone in my desire.
Wanting you, nothing else in this world will do
My heart is set on you, and nobody else can replace you in my heart.
In this world you are all that I adore,
You are the only one who holds my affection and admiration in this world.
All I adore.
There is nobody and nothing I love more than you.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: SIGMUND ROMBERG, OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind