Hampton Hawes

Hampton Barnett Hawes, Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) 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.

Hampton Hawes was born on November 13, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. His father, Hampton Hawes, Sr., was minister of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. His mother, the former Gertrude Holman, was Westminster’s church pianist. Hawes’ first experience with the piano was as a toddler sitting on his mother’s lap while she practiced. He was reportedly able to pick out fairly complex tunes by the age of three.

In the 1970s, Hawes experimented with electronic music (Fender-Rhodes made a special instrument for him), although eventually he returned to playing the acoustic piano.

Hampton Hawes died unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage in 1977, at the age of 48.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-8UlBjWczk&list=PL0q2VleZJVEn25QjYlbGGJNUgDS7R5WIE&index=3

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