Music Monday: Some Chico Hamilton

I had some book production to work on the weekend and I wanted something that was interesting, but not jarring or overly boisterous. Someone recently suggested Chico Hamilton to me and that seemed like a good idea.

I started with one of his late-1950s chamber jazz albums, but not the remarkable recordings of the Chico Hamilton Trio from that era. Instead, I decided to listen to the The Original Ellington Suite, which Hamilton recorded with Eric Dolphy in 1958 and wasn’t released until 2000. It’s a fantastic album full of subtlety and tone.

I think cued up Hamilton’s Passin’ Thru recorded in the 1962 and released the next year. It’s a fantastic album which carries some of Hamilton’s chamber jazz sensibilities into what might be called advanced hard bop. The featured horn is Charle Lloyd (other than a memorable cameo by George Bohanon on trombone on “El Toro”) and Gábor Szabó brings his distinctive flair to the guitar and Albert Stinson joins on bass.

The same ensemble, including Bohanon in an expanded role, came together a year later to record Man from Two Worlds which Impulse! released in 1964. If anything, it’s more subtly brilliant than Passin’ Thru.

I am keen to explore some of Chico Hamilton’s less acclaimed 1970s recordings over the next week or so. So stay tuned!