Coleman Hawkins

American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Born November 21, 1904, St. Joseph, Missouri, USA. Died May 19, 1969, New York, NY, USA.

Also known as Bean or Hawk, Coleman Hawkins started piano lessons when he was five. He switched to the cello at the age of seven and two years later Coleman began to work on the tenor saxophone, turning professional by the age of 12. In August 1923, he began to record with [a307323], whose orchestra also featured [a38201] at this time. Following a period working in Europe (1934-39), shortly after his return to New York, he performed his classic version of "Body and Soul" almost by chance at the end of a session for RCA Victor. For the rest of his career, he mainly led his own groups, playing with [a145256], [a64694], [a23755] and [a229498], among others.