Slide Hampton

Slide Hampton's distinguished career spans decades in the evolution of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis-based Hampton Band, led by his father and comprising other members of his musical family. By 1952, at the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Band. He then joined Maynard Ferguson's band, playing trombone and providing exciting charts on such popular tunes as "The Fugue," "Three Little Foxes," and "Slide's Derangement."

As his reputation grew, he soon began working with bands led by Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Harris, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, and Max Roach, again contributing both original compositions and arrangements. In 1962, he formed the Slide Hampton Octet, which included stellar horn players Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and George Coleman. The band toured the U.S. and Europe and recorded on several labels.

From 1964 to 1967, he served as music director for various orchestras and artists. Then, following a 1968 tour with Woody Herman, he elected to stay in Europe, performing with other expatriates such as Benny Bailey, Kenny Clarke, Kenny Drew, Art Farmer, and Dexter Gordon. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1977, he began a series of master classes at Harvard, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, De Paul University in Chicago, and Indiana University. During this period he formed the illustrious World of Trombones: an ensemble of nine trombones and a rhythm section.

Slide Hampton's countless collaborations with the most prominent musicians of jazz were acknowledged by the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Arrangement with a Vocalist.

The 1990's were spent doing an enormous volume of work. He continued to develop the Slide Hampton Quartet and Quintet, toured the world with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, was a special advisor and arranger for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and arranged numerous recording projects around the world.

2006 saw the debut of Slide's own Big Band..."Slide Hampton(TM) Ultra Big Band". The band will soon record a new CD of original compositions that will set the standard of what Big Band is all about. Four of the songs slated for inclusion on the CD are; "Mandela", "Oprah", "Tiger" and "Venus & "Serena" with more original works nearing completion. The CD will surely be the best work Slide has done to date. These four songs contain lyrics co-written by Slide and Tony Charles. Other honoress are: Thelonious Monk ('Round Midnight), Thad Jones (One for Thad, Eddie Harris (Freedom Jazz Dance) and Gil Evans (Gil).

Slide Hampton: Drum Suite

Read "Drum Suite" reviewed by Francis Lo Kee

by Francis Lo Kee
March 10, 2007

For Drum Suite, Slide Hampton set out to make an album to feature the drumming of Max Roach, but he accomplished much more: a display of why teamwork is at the essence of powerful jazz. Besides the framing of Roach's melodic and multi-dynamic drumming, the album succeeds in featuring the entire ensemble as part of a singular musical statement. Yes, Roach, George Coleman, Yusef Lateef, Freddie Hubbard and Hampton himself all turn in great solos, but more ...

462

Album Review

Slide Hampton: Slide Plays Jobim

Read "Slide Plays Jobim" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
November 27, 2005

Slide Hampton Plays the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim came out in 2002, but like many indie releases, it continues to be “discovered through chance and good fortune. I stumbled upon it after a series of happy coincidences, and as a confessed Jobimaniac, I was delighted to find a fresh approach to the material I know so well.

The novelty is due to Slide Hampton's fluid, swinging arrangements and the prominence of his wonderful trombone, not a common ...

261

Album Review

Hank Mobley: The Flip

Read "The Flip" reviewed by Germein Linares

by Germein Linares
January 17, 2004

Leonard Feather once hailed Hank Mobley as “the middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone." Mobley was better than that. An exquisite soul messenger, Mobley was criticized for not being as aggressive, voluminous, or trailblazing as his contemporaries. Indeed, he was not. Instead, his music was steeped in care, precision and nuances. In Mobley's hands, such treatment often dazzled, as on his latest Blue Note reissue, The Flip.

Recorded in 1969 at Studio Barclay in Paris, this album would be Mobley's ...

190

Album Review

Slide Hampton and the World of Trombones: Spirit of the Horn

Read "Spirit of the Horn" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 2, 2003

I wish my friend Bill Swanson were alive to hear this. Bill loved the trombone, and would have greatly admired this picturesque performance by Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones in concert at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh. This is wall-to-wall ‘bones, as Slide leads a dozen of the country’s finest through their paces and welcomes guest soloist Bill Watrous on Ray Noble’s “Cherokee,” Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing” and his own “Blues for Eric.”

236

Album Review

Slide Hampton: Jazz With A Twist/Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton

Read "Jazz With A Twist/Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
November 1, 2000

A few years ago a “new swing revival” burst onto the music scene, bolstered by newcomers like the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Royal Crown Revue, among others. Suddenly techno clubs featured swing nights, as albums by these artists appeared at the top of the charts. Although the new swing craze has passed as we all knew it would, one positive fallout was that many older stalwarts, like Louis Prima and Louis Jordan, received posthumous exposure ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Slide Hampton

Source: Michael Ricci
April 21, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Slide Hampton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Slide Hampton

Source: Michael Ricci
April 21, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Slide Hampton's birthday today!

Performance / Tour

The Django Announces March Schedule Including Women's History Month Celebration, Slide Hampton Octet, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations
January 31, 2022

The Django downtown Manhattan’s premier jazz club, commemorates Women’s History Month by hosting more than 20 leading female jazz artists on its stage during March from Lezlie Harrison (3/19) and Roxy Coss (3/25) to emerging artists Marianne Solivan (3/5) and Endea Owens (3/11), to name a few. A special tribute concert for trombonist Slide Hampton (1932-2021) is slated for March 8th featuring an Octet performing Hampton’s own orchestrations. The Django’s weekly Mingus residency continues every Monday with two sets: Mingus ...
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Obituary

Slide Hampton (1932-2021)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 10, 2021

Slide Hampton, a slide trombonist and a prolific leader, composer and arranger for many of the most significant big bands of the post-war era, including several led by Maynard Ferguson, died November 18. He was 89. Though not as well known to jazz fans as J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Urbie Green or Curtis Fuller, Hampton was an in-demand sideman, arranger and leader whose smooth, punchy playing and whip-cracking arrangements delivered drama and daring. Here are 10 favorite tracks—including 8 as ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Slide Hampton

Source: Michael Ricci
April 21, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Slide Hampton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Slide Hampton

Source: Michael Ricci
April 21, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Slide Hampton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Slide Hampton

Source: Michael Ricci
April 21, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Slide Hampton's birthday today!

Slide Hampton\'s distinguished career spans decades in the evolution of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis-based Hampton Band, led by his father and comprising other members of his musical family. By 1952, at the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Band. He then joined Maynard Ferguson\'s band... Read more.

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