Hawkins had been the dominant tenor-saxophonist from the mid-'20s up until 1940, but even though he remained a major force, his influence was waning, due to the emergence of
Lester Young and then
Charlie Parker. By the early '50s he only recorded on an infrequent basis. Fortunately a few years later (partly due to the rise of
Sonny Rollins whose original hero was
Hawk), his fortunes were on the rise again. This Decca CD contains quite a variety of music. There are ten selections of melodic "mood" music from 1951-53 in which
Hawkins mostly sticks to the melody (an exception is an excellent version of "If I Could Be with You"). Then the great tenor is heard in an occasionally exciting session with
Cozy Cole's All-Stars; cornetist
Rex Stewart steals the show with a couple of colorful solos. The best music on this CD is taken from a 1955 radio broadcast in which
Hawkins plays "Foolin' Around" (based on the chords of "Body and Soul") totally unaccompanied and roars on "The Man I Love." This set concludes with three selections (one previously unissued) from a fine session led by clarinetist
Tony Scott. ~ Scott Yanow