Hawes Trio Swinging Hard in 1958
Hawes sounds loose and locked in, a small trio playing with the kind of ease that only comes from real familiarity.
Put on For Real! and the first thing you hear is a piano trio with its shoulders loose, swinging at a comfortable clip with a warm, unfussy tone. Hampton Hawes leads the way with a percussive, driving touch, Harold Land's tenor saxophone brings a rounder, more relaxed voice to the front line, and the rhythm section keeps everything moving. Nothing about it is showy or overwrought. It feels like a band that has played together enough to trust each other and wants to have a good time doing it.
The record was made in 1958 but sat on the shelf until 1961, when Contemporary finally released it. That gap is part of its story, though the music itself carries no sense of delay. Hawes is in top form, sounding inspired by the players around him, and the Allmusic reviewer Scott Yanow described the outing as generally memorable, which is a fair summary. It is not a reinvention of anything. It is a solid, enjoyable straight-ahead date.
For listeners new to Hawes, this is a good, accessible entry point into his West Coast work rather than a peak in his catalogue. Those already fond of his playing will find it satisfying, and anyone who likes hard-swinging small-group jazz from the late fifties will feel at home here. It is not essential in the way some of his other records are, but it is a warm and dependable example of what he did well.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Hampton Hawes
All 27 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
