Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk Relaxes (Moodsville Acoustic Sounds Series Vinyl)

Moodsville Acoustic Sounds Series 180 Gram LP in Tip-On Jacket

The Hawk Relaxes is one of the three titles that launched the Moodsville Acoustic Sounds Series, the partnership between Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds devoted to Prestige's early-1960s Moodsville imprint. Matthew Lutthans of The Mastering Lab cut this edition with all-analog mastering from the original tapes, and it is pressed on 180-gram black vinyl at QRP. The tip-on jacket reproduces the original artwork and Joe Goldberg's back-cover notes, and carries the catalog number CR00955. The distributor lists the edition with an OBI.

Craft describes Moodsville, active from 1960 to 1963, as a home for expressive ballads for late-night listening, with leading players of the day taking melodic readings of standards. Hawkins made this, the imprint's fifteenth volume, on February 28, 1961 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Esmond Edwards supervised the date and Van Gelder engineered it.

The band around him is pianist Ronnell Bright, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The program is seven standards, among them "Moonglow", "Just a Gigolo" and Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "Speak Low". The back cover lists his other Prestige-family albums of the period, including At Ease With Coleman Hawkins, Moodsville's seventh volume, and Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio on Swingville.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1904, Hawkins spent 1923 to 1934 in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and 1934 to 1939 in Europe, then recorded "Body and Soul" in October 1939. In February 1944 he led the first bebop recording session, with Dizzy Gillespie and Don Byas in the band. He died in New York in 1969.

Tracklist

Side A

1. I'll Never Be The Same
2. When Day Is Done
3. Under A Blanket Of Blue
4. More Than You Know

Side B

5. Moonglow
6. Just A Gigolo
7. Speak Low