___ _ __ __
___/ (_)_________(_)___/ /__ ____ / /_
/ __ / / ___/ ___/ / __ / _ \/ __ \/ __/
/ /_/ / (__ |__ ) / /_/ / __/ / / / /_
\__,_/_/____/____/_/\__,_/\___/_/ /_/\__/
d i s s i d e n t
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a r t i s t : Lionel Hampton
t i t l e : Ring Dem Bells
d a t e : 2002
l a b e l : Bluebird (Bluebird's Best)
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Jan/2003
t r a c k s : 16
b i t r a t e : 192kbps
s i z e : 67,10 MB
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The word jazz and the term "mass appeal" are seldom used in the same
sentence. Occasionally, a well-marketed jazz artist will connect with
popular culture, singer Diana Krall, for example, but label execs
usually assume that jazz won't sell as well as rock, R&B, rap, country,
adult contemporary, or Latin music. However, there was a time when
jazz did, in fact, enjoy mass appeal. It was called the swing era, and
Lionel Hampton was among the many swing stars who connected with
popular culture even though he wasn't a pop artist. Assembled by
Bluebird/RCA in 2002, this collection spans 1937-1940 and takes
listeners back to a time when Hampton reached the pop market by playing
warm, soulful, infectious, hard-swinging jazz. The disc is full of
five-star gems from the vibist's early period, including "On the Sunny
Side of the Street," "Memories of You," and Hampton's signature song
"Flying Home." And the list of sidemen reads like a who's who of swing,
people like Ziggy Ellman, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, and Nat King Cole.
So why doesn't Ring Dem Bells merit a higher rating? For one thing, it
isn't terribly generous by CD standards. The disc clocks in at around
49 minutes, and RCA could have easily provided another 30 minutes'
worth of material. But the main problem is the sound quality; these
recordings sound a lot scratchier and noisier on Ring Dem Bells than
they do on other Hampton CDs that RCA has put out. This time,
Bluebird/RCA's digital remastering leaves much to be desired. The
haunting "Shades of Jade," for example, sounds a lot cleaner on Tempo
and Swing (a 1992 release) than it does here. This carelessly assembled
reissue simply doesn't do justice to an artist of Hampton's magnitude.
- Alex Henderson
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Hampton Stomp [03:11]
02-On The Sunny Side Of The Street [03:18]
03-Stompology [03:03]
04-China Stomp (Chinatown) [02:50]
05-I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) [03:29]
06-Piano Stomp (Shine) [02:58]
07-After You've Gone [03:06]
08-Ring Dem Bells [03:25]
09-Don't Be That Way [02:36]
10-Shoe Shiner's Drag [03:25]
11-Memories Of You [03:16]
12-When Lights Are Low [02:15]
13-I've Found A New Baby [02:55]
14-Shades Of Jade [03:27]
15-Jack The Bellboy [03:11]
16-Flying Home [02:58]
-------
49:23 min
_______________________________________________________________________
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Files
Path
Size
[BMW]-[Jazz-2002]-(68.0 MB in 16 files of 192kbps Stereo)-[bender@reco