 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2013-03-12 18:06
I was just listening to the sweet sounds of Jimmy Hamilton from an original LP entitled More Of Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra. He was certainly one of the greats.
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Author: Joe Bloke
Date: 2013-03-12 20:20
"He was certainly one of the greats."
Yes indeed! I love the work he did with Ellington.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2013-03-13 08:30
Dear Claniteer,
It is great to have somebody mention the great Jimmy Hamilton. I had the good fortune to know him in my teens and I still have the clarinet he used for so many recordings in the 50s and 60s: a Leblanc. He had studied Clasical music with Russianoff, which partly explains his very pure, distinguished sound. He was one of the few arrangers that the Duke deigned to use. I would like to get my hands on some pieces he wrote for clarinet trio and quartet and I had the privilege to play with him. They're out there somewhere and should be published.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2013-03-13 13:08
Ruben,
Very cool that you knew Jimmy Hamilton. Do you have any dates on when he studied with Russianoff? I'm a little hesitant to ascribe to him any influence on Jimmy's sound...they were almost exactly the same age, and Jimmy was playing with Duke by 1943 (not to mention Teddy Wilson before that)--which would still have been very early in Russianoff's teaching career. In Stanley Dance's "The World of Duke Ellington" there's an interesting interview with Hamilton--he says that the biggest influence on his playing was Benny Goodman. No surprise there, I guess...but even though he transcribed Goodman and was inspired by him, he never sounded like Benny or anyone else to me: always had his own thing.
My favorite Hamilton is 'Ad Lib on Nippon' -- the "tag on" piece on the Far East Suite album. But that album is probably my favorite Duke too--and probably has my favorite Johnny Hodges solo ('Isfahan'), by far my favorite Paul Gonsolves solo ('Mt Harissa') and the list could go on and on.
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2013-03-13 13:13
Ruben--
Almost forgot to ask the real important stuff!
Can you tell us what model Leblanc Hamilton played? And do you also have any mouthpieces, or knowledge of his reed set-up?
(Someday I'd like to open up a jazz clarinet Hall of Fame and get together the horns that are out there: Omer Simeon's is still owned in NOLA, as is Leon Roppolo's, you have Hamilton's...and there are other still out there in circulation. )
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2013-03-13 14:56
Since I am currently playing a 1955 Leblanc Symphonie I would also like to know which model he played. Thanks for your input.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2013-03-13 16:17
Dear friends,
It is heart-warming for me to know that you are interested in Jimmy Hamilton. In answer to your question: he played a Leblanc LL until 1967, when I came into possession of it, and then switched to a Selmer Series 9. He left the Ellington Orchestra at the end of 1967; tired of being on the road. As for his mouthpiece, he himself didn't know what it was becuase when I asked him, he looked at it and he searched for the brand! I suspect it was the stock Leblanc mouthpiece, which at that point was a 4L. Not a bad mouthpiece, I might add. His reeds were Vandoren, but I had him playing an obscure French brand that I discovered: Beaumont. They were dirt cheap and you bought them by the hundred! Jimmy studied with Russianoff in the early 40s and until the end of his life, he practised the Mozart clarinet concerto, Rose études and the like on a daily basis. My favorite recording of him is "Tenderly" on the Ellington Indigos disc. He himself did the arrrangement of it and his playing on it is wondrously elegant. Shortly after leaving the Duke, he settled in the Virgin Islands, where he played in a hotel bar, taught and repaired instruments. He was also a professional-level photographer. Sorry for making this so long, but when you get me going on Jimmy Hamilton...
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2013-03-13 16:33
"Sorry for making this so long, but when you get me going on Jimmy Hamilton..."
No way, man!!! Make it as long as you want!
Thanks for all of that great info---I love that version of 'Tenderly' too, and didn't know Jimmy had arranged it.
You've opened my mind to the impact Russianoff might have had on his playing. Thanks again.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Paula S
Date: 2013-03-13 19:15
Wow amazin'!
The one thing for me that shows the pedigree of a wonderful musician is how they know when to be the soloist and then to be completely part of the band or 'tutti'. This guy has absolute class!
Post Edited (2013-03-13 19:17)
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Author: Erez Katz
Date: 2019-12-26 19:31
Is Jimmy Hamilton the clarinetist on this Caravan recording?
https://youtu.be/YkLBSLxo5LE
That track was an added bonus material to the CD issue of "The Popular Duke Ellington".
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-26 19:58
Erez: that's Jimmy Hamilton alright! -playing on a Selmer series 9* clarinet.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Erez Katz
Date: 2019-12-26 23:51
Thank you Ruben!
And thank you for the added info about the selmer B-)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-27 00:00
Erez: he had played a Leblanc LL for ten years before that, which he gave to me when he switched to Selmer. I gave the Leblanc away about a year ago to an Italian jazz musician living in England. Quite a few of the arrangements played by the Duke were by Jimmy Hamilton: "Tenderly" for example, and "Pretty and the Wolf". There will always be a place in my heart for Jimmy Hamilton.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2019-12-27 23:40
Another Jimmy Hamilton solo is heard on the following video. JH stepped in for Paul Gonsalves who was asleep!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faOvAO4SRY8
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-27 23:46
Jim: Paul doesn't look asleep; he looks dead! But...he was a wonderful artist and an equally wonderful man. I had the great privilege of knowing him.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: nbclarinet
Date: 2019-12-28 01:10
Love to see Jimmy’s playing being discussed on this forum!
A couple of years ago I transcribed and arranged a 25-min suite of his/Ellington’s/Strayhorn’s music for clarinet soloist with mixed combo for one of my recitals. If anyone is interested in the sheet music, send me an email and me know!
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-28 11:29
nbclarinet: I'm definitely interested! My e-mail address is down below. I knew Jimmy Hamilton well when I was a teenager. He then left the Ellington orchestra-tired of the road-and moved to the Virgin Islands, at which time we lost touch.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: fromsfca
Date: 2019-12-30 01:05
You should look for his album: Can’t Help Swingin’.
Can't Help Swingin' album showcases Hamilton with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Earl Williams in a quartet. Although Hamilton plays some clarinet (most notably on the atmospheric "Dancing on the Ceiling"), the emphasis throughout both sets is on his rarely heard tenor.
He is less bop-oriented and more basic on the bigger horn than on his usual ax, swinging hard and showing just how strong a tenor player he could be. Worth exploring.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-30 10:59
fromsfca: Jimmy Hamilton was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when he would switch from clarinet to tenor sax! -his clarinet: refined and sophisticated; his sax, gutsy Texas blues or swing. It"s funny how a different instrument can sometimes bring out a different part of your personality. It's like switching languages.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-12-31 10:30
fromsfca: Jimmy Hamilton also played excellent flure, but unfortunately only in his hotel room. The Duke didn't like the flute so never gave Jimmy a chance to play it in the Ellington band. He changed his mind late in life when Norris Turney played the flute quite often in the band.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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