Coleman Hawkins
Swing music, Musical Artist
1904 – 1969
Who was Coleman Hawkins?
Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed Hawk and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. 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". While Hawkins is strongly associated with the swing music and big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s.
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."
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- Born
- Nov 21, 1904
St. Joseph - Also known as
- Coleman Randolph Hawkins
- Coleman Hawkings
- C . Hawkins
- Hawkins, Coleman
- Hawk
- Bean
- Parents
- Spouses
- Dolores Hawkins
( - 1969/05/19)
- Dolores Hawkins
- Ethnicity
- African American
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- Washburn University
- Topeka High School
- Lived in
- Topeka
- Died
- May 19, 1969
New York City - Resting place
- Woodlawn Cemetery
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Coleman Hawkins." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/coleman_hawkins>.
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