Flying Home:
Celebrating 100 Years of Good Vibes

Lionel Hampton's Official 100th Birthday Celebration

Text by Tom Jacobsen
Photos courtesy of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
and by Tom Jacobsen

While there has been some disagreement over the precise year, it is now agreed that the official birth date of legendary vibraphonist, composer and bandleader Lionel Hampton is April 20, 1908. In any event, that date was the basis for a splendid centennial celebration held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans on the weekend of April 19-20.

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"Flying Home," a painting executed by Frederick J. Brown for the Hampton centennial. In the Collection of the Ogden Museum. (Photo: Courtesy Ogden Museum)

One might ask, why in New Orleans? Wouldn't cities such as New York or Los Angeles be far more appropriate locations for such a significant event?

It turns out that Hampton, who performed in the Crescent City on many occasions over the years, often stayed with the family of Xavier University president Dr. Norman Francis. Consequently, Dr. and Mrs. Francis and their son, Timothy, became close friends with Hampton and his wife, Gladys. In fact, the bandleader encouraged young Tim to go to law school and become an attorney so that he could take charge of Hamp's legal affairs. Which he did. As a result, Tim Francis spent many years traveling with the Hampton band. In light of all of this, the Francis family appears to have been the prime movers behind the selection of New Orleans and the Ogden Museum (just opened in 2003) as the proper venue for the celebration. Sponsors included the Hampton Estate, Xavier University of New Orleans, and the University of Idaho at Moscow, Idaho, host of an annual jazz festival in Hampton's honor and home of a music school named after him in 1987.

The occasion began April 19 with a reception featuring champagne and birthday cake. A host of dignitaries was in attendance, and most had an opportunity to speak. Kyra Philips of CNN served as mistress of ceremonies, introducing Tim Francis, Dr. Norman Francis and Louisiana senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, who toasted the memory of Hampton. Also, Dr. Francis introduced acclaimed jazz portrait artist Frederick J. Brown, who had created a monumental painting of the bandleader for the celebration. Entitled appropriately "Flying Home," the painting was unveiled at the ceremony. It will hang in the Ogden as part of its permanent collection. (Another Brown portrait of Hampton hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D. C.)

After the speeches and toasts, the crowd repaired to the museum's auditorium for the first of the evening's two sold-out concerts by the excellent 15-piece Lionel Hampton Orchestra, directed by saxophonist Cleve Guyton. The band was composed of both younger musicians and veterans, the most senior of whom was saxophonist Ed Pazant who joined Hamp's band in 1958. Other veterans were Guyton, saxophonist Lance Bryant and drummer Wally "Gator" Watson, who joined the band in 1990 and became the last drummer to work with Hampton.

The band opened with two numbers, "Hip Shakin'" and "Sans Souci." Then special guest vocalist Stephanie Jordan was introduced. Rapidly becoming acknowledged as one of the country's top female jazz singers, Ms. Jordan, a New Orleans native, sang three numbers with the band -- "'Round Midnight," "My Funny Valentine" and "Them There Eyes." Dr. Henry Panion of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, who arranged these numbers, directed the orchestra. Jordan received a very warm reception from the large crowd, but the intense heat was yet to come.

Jason Marsalis, like Hampton a drummer turned vibraphonist, was introduced. He joined the band for the last three numbers on the program, all Hampton compositions -- "Midnight Sun," "Hamp's Boogie," and his signature, "Flying Home." The growing crescendo of the ensemble's performance led to a rousing conclusion with the last number. The crowd was on its feet, and many were dancing in the aisles. Reports have it that that spirit continued even more enthusiastically in the evening's second show.

The following day featured a panel discussion led by Tim Francis, held at the Ogden. Panelists included critic Stanley Crouch, author of the new Hampton centennial biography Flying Home (State Street Press, 2008); longtime Hampton public relations chief Phil Leshin, and band members Cleve Guyton, Lance Bryant, Ed Pazant and "Gator" Watson. Other band members sat in the audience and also made contributions to the proceedings.

The discussion was a tribute to the man, acknowledging his musicianship, his enormous energy and commitment as an entertainer and his stature as a "man of the world" who was at home with presidents and political leaders from around the globe. The members of his band roundly praised him as a bandleader and father figure. Young bassist Christian Fabian, upon joining the band and knowing that Hampton had played with both Armstrong and Goodman, asked the bandleader what he had learned from the two experiences. Hamp promptly replied that Armstrong taught him the importance of a sense of humor, and Goodman had taught him the importance of discipline.

All agreed with the appraisal of one-time sideman Quincy Jones: "There was no better school in the world than the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He taught me how to groove and how to laugh and how to hang and how to live like a man."

Lionel Hampton died on August 31, 2002, and his memorial service was held on Sept. 7 in New York City, where he had lived for many years. The jazz funeral included a second-line parade led by Wynton Marsalis which began at the Cotton Club and concluded at Riverside Church. Among the hundreds in attendance that day were numerous well-known jazz musicians as well as the Francis family. The event was fully captured by well-known Los Angeles photographer Frank Jackson, whose work is included in Crouch's generously illustrated book. Jackson was also present (and at work) at the New Orleans celebration.

Attending the panel discussion afforded one an opportunity to visit the exhibition, "Lionel Hampton: A Centennial Celebration," on display in a fourth floor gallery of the museum through July 30. The exhibition features more than 30 photographs from the Lionel Hampton Archives at the University of Idaho as well as other important historic, personal and musical artifacts, including a recent U.S. passport showing Hamp's now-accepted date of birth.

In his remarks at the opening, Dr. Francis made brief reference to the establishment of the Lionel Hampton State of Grace Award to honor annually "an extraordinary contemporary artist." The award, to be administered by the Ogden Museum, will recognize both artistic excellence and a humanitarian spirit. Francis also made reference to a Lionel Hampton Institute, indicating that it intends to "offer summer programs teaching practical information about the art and music business for students at all levels of development." According to Tim Francis, the institute will be a joint undertaking of the University of Idaho, Xavier University, the University of New Orleans, and perhaps other institutions "as the program grows." Further details were not available at press time.

June 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.