Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge - Live at the Opera House

This CD contains the two complete sets by the Coleman Hawkins/Roy Eldridge quintet recorded it the fall of 1957 at the Civic Opera House in Chicago (Stereo) and at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles (mono). The Hawk is still imperial here, and there is also a particularly welcome bonus in the fine form of Roy Eldridge on both concerts - not always the case during his career.

Another surprise is the rhythm section, which consists of three quarters of the Modern Jazz Quartet: John Lewis, Percy Heath and Connie Kay. They swing hard, proving they were versatile enough to change their style when accompanying their two elders.

Making a great closing performance for a CD full of outstanding playing is a very rare version of Stuffy, with Coleman and Roy, plus J.J. Johnson, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis and Jo Jones.

1. Bean's Talkin' (Coleman Hawkins) 7:58
2. The Nearness of You (Carmichael-Washington) 2:51
3. Time on My Hands (Youmans-Adamson-Gordon) 2:27
4. The Walker (Eldridge-Hawkins) 7:18
5. Tea for Two (Youmans-Caesar) 6:00
6. Blue Moon (Rodgers-Hart) 2:23
7. Cocktails for Two (Coslow-Johnston) 2:19
8. Kerry (Eldridge-Hawkins) 7:51
9. Bean's Talkin' (Coleman Hawkins) 7:27
10. I Can't Get Started (Duke-Gershwin) 2:36
11. Time on My Hands (Youmans-Adamson-Gordon) 2:12
12. The Walker (Eldridge-Hawkins) 7:20
13. Stuffy (Coleman Hawkins) 15:04