Named after Hawkins’ 1939 proto-bebop classic, this legendary collection proves why Hawkins is considered by many the finest tenor ever. Picking up his career after a stint alongside Louis Armstrong in Fletcher Henderson’s big band and five years in prewar Europe, BODY AND SOUL focuses on Hawkins’ essential small group sides of the ’40s. Here the former swing enthusiast helped create bebop with the help of future jazz icons Benny Carter, J.J. Johnson, Zoot Sims and Max Roach. From “Meet Doctor Foo” to “Angel Face,” Hawkins transforms standards like “My Blue Heaven” into something startlingly new and creates originals like “Bouncing With Bean” that would go on to influenced an entire generation of players. The mid-’50s orchestral sessions that end the album show Hawkins’ eagerness to bring bebop’s structures into new arenas, and the lovely, string-laden remake of the title track indicates that the experiment was a success.

Recorded at RCA Studios, New York, New York between 1939 and 1956. Includes liner notes by Dan Morgenstern.

Tracklist

01. Meet Doctor Foo
02. Fine Dinner
03. She’s Funny That Way
04. Body And Soul
05. When Day Is Done
06. The Sheik Of Araby
07. My Blue Heaven
08. Bouncing With Bean
09. April In Paris
10. How Strange
11. Haf Steps Down Please
12. Angel Face
13. Jumping For Jane
14. I Love You
15. There Will Never Be Another You
16. Little Girl Blue
17. Dinner For One Please James
18. His Very Own Blues
19. 39-25-39
20. The Bean Stalks Again
21. Have You Met Miss Jones
22. Body And Soul
23. The Essence Of You

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