| The Challenge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | May 7, 9, 12, 1968 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Victor | |||
| Hampton Hawes chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Challenge is a solo piano album by Hampton Hawes. It was recorded in 1968 and released by Victor. It was his only solo album.
The solo piano album was recorded in Tokyo on May 7, 9, and 12, 1968. [1] The project was "a result of a Japanese producer's enthusiasm for Hawes's music." [2]
The material includes jazz standards, the contemporary pop song "Who Can I Turn To?", and three Hawes originals. [3] All except "Bags' Groove" are short performances. [2] Hawes uses "contrapuntal left-hand lines, doubtless compensating for the absence of bass and drums." [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [2] |
The Challenge was released by Victor in Japan. [2] The AllMusic reviewer concluded: "the pianist shows that he could create stirring music without the assistance of a rhythm section." [3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz commented that the album was important for being Hawes's only solo release, and noted that even the unsuccessful performance of "Clementine" provided the listener with an insight into "Hawes's harmonic instincts and his fine structural intelligence." [2]
Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir Raise Up Off Me, which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975.
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants is an album by Miles Davis, released on Prestige Records in 1959. Most of the material comes from a session on December 24, 1954, featuring Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson, and had been previously released in the discontinued ten inch LP format. "Swing Spring" was originally released on the 10"LP Miles Davis All Stars, Volume 1, and "Bemsha Swing" and "The Man I Love" had been previously released on Volume 2. "'Round Midnight" is newly released, and comes from the same sessions by Davis's new quintet in 1956 which resulted in Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet and three other albums to fulfill Davis's contract with Prestige.
Bags' Groove is a jazz album by Miles Davis, released in 1957 by Prestige Records, compiling material from two 10" LPs recorded in 1954, plus two alternative takes.
Living Legend is a 1975 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper playing with Hampton Hawes, Charlie Haden and Shelly Manne.
Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is a 1958 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track. It was the last studio record Rollins made in the 1950s. Following the recording of "Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders", Rollins toured Europe in the spring of 1959, then took a hiatus from recording and performing in public that ended in 1962 with his LP The Bridge.
As Long as There's Music is an album of duets by bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1976 and released on the Artists House label in 1978. The 1993 CD reissue added a bonus track originally released on The Golden Number and three alternative takes from the recording sessions.
Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns is an album by trombonist Curtis Fuller with pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1957 and originally released as one-half of a 16rpm record Baritones and French Horns but later re-released on the Status label, a subsidiary of Prestige Records in 1964.
Four! is a 1958 album by Hampton Hawes, originally released on the Contemporary label and reissued in 1991 by Original Jazz Classics.
The Green Leaves of Summer is an album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1964 and released on the Contemporary label.
Here and Now is an album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1965 and released on the Contemporary label.
The Seance is a live album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1966 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1969.
I'm All Smiles is a live album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1966 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1973.
For Real! is an album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1958 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1961.
Hampton Hawes at the Piano is an album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes, recorded in 1976 and released on the Contemporary label in 1978. The album was Hawes's final recording before his death in 1977 and was the first to be released posthumously.
Bird Song is an album by American jazz pianist Hampton Hawes recorded at sessions in 1956 and 1958 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1999.
Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes is the third album by pianist Hampton Hawes recorded in 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.
All Night Session! Vol. 1 is an album by pianist Hampton Hawes from a session recorded the night of November 12, 1956 at Contemporary's Studios in Los Angeles and released on Contemporary Records.
All Night Session! Vol. 3 is an album by pianist Hampton Hawes from a session recorded the morning of November 13, 1956 at Contemporary's Studios in Los Angeles and released on the Contemporary label.
This Is Hampton Hawes is an album by pianist Hampton Hawes recorded at sessions in 1955 and 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.
Dear Miles is an album by American bassist Ron Carter recorded in 2006 and originally released on the Japanese Somethin' Else label with a US release on Blue Note Records.