Vibraharpist, drummer, pianist, singer, composer, and bandleader — Hampton remains a world-traveling, world-renowned ambassador of jazz. Doubltless his greatest achievement is that he took the unlikely-looking machine called the vibraharp and turned it into the jazz instrument known as the vibes. Hamp and his incredibly good vibes are still swinging and leaping and stomping wherever they perform. And nobody who picks up the vibes can fail to owe him big dues. Nor can anyone picking up his classic small group sides with "everybody" on them — including some of the best small session work of such disparate jazzmakers as Johnny Hodges, Chu Berry, and Dizzy Gillespie — fail to feel the soulful power of Hampton’s presence and his impact on jazz history.

Excerpted from Black Legends of Jazz GRD-2-641