Lionel Hampster

I love puns, jazz, and animals. Here is a combination of all three! You can test your knowledge of swing-era jazz musicians with this series.

Lionel Hampton is best known for his work as a jazz vibraphonist and bland leader, but he also played drums, piano and acted. In addition, he was heavily involved in charity, and the construction of public housing projects. As a musician, his timing and sense of swing is inevitable, like a stone falling from the sky. He had a particular gift for recognizing talent, and his band was always packed with heavy hitters, including Illinois Jacquet, Charlie Shavers, and Dinah Washington. When Benny Goodman saw one of Hampton's performances in 1936, Hampton was invited to join the trio, previously comprised of all white musicians (Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Gene Krupa) making that trio one of the first racially integrated jazz groups to play for audiences.

"Seemed to me that drumming was the best way to get close to God."
"Gratitude is when memory stored in the heart and not in the mind."
"I think I love it more as I get older because I keep getting better..."
"Music was our wife, and we loved her. And we stayed with her, and we clothed her, and we put diamond rings on her hand."
- Lionel Hampton