Hardback
286 pages
Warner Books
Illustrated; with extensive discography.
Lionel Hampton: One of America's legendary jazz greats-and one of the worlds most versatile musicians. Hamp takes us on a detailed, captivating journey through eight decades of the passing Amering scene. He talks of his early life in Birmingham, Alabama, and in Chicago; His career: his struggles in Hollywood, discovering his genius for the vibra-harp, his first recording session, how he became one of the first Afro-Americans to play with a white band (with Benny Goodman in the 1930s), how his own band dared to break the color barrier in hotels and music halls, and how he led the first Afro-American orchestra at a presidential inaugration, that of Harry Truman in 1949.