This deserves special mention, because it is the first jazz record that I own. It is also the first among a long list of records I got from my old landlady. She didn’t have a record player, so she gave them to me. I have good memories of her, I had a good time living in her house.
Lionel Hampton was one of the great big band leaders of the early jazz. Born in 1908 in Louisville Kentucky he rose to fame in the 40s and 50s. The decline of the big band in the 60s meant a slow ending of his career. But he did work with the big names in jazz history and got many awards in later life.
Something I found interesting is that he also was an active contributor to housing projects in his home city of New York, Harlem more specifically. The high rises are still there, nowadays rented for a considerably less comfortable monthly rent.