This week I’m excited to share with you the legendary Lionel Hampton’s King David Suite. I can’t fully put into words the emotions that this work sparks—especially as it’s performed in this recording with Hampton himself!
I adore the richness of this score: the repetition of motifs by different instruments, each time creating a wholly new effect; the orchestra’s soaring lyrical passages that give me goosebumps every time; the wide mix of influences (from traditional Jewish music to the classical symphony and, of course, jazz) and instruments; the triumphant grand finale, a jazzy masterpiece; and, last but not least, the very end of the piece—a mischievous final note on the vibraphone, followed by the contagious laughter of Lionel Hampton.
