Wrapped Tight

In a career that traced the evolution of the tenor saxophone in jazz from the swing era through the modern movement, ‘Wrapped Tight’ is a triumphant late-career turn for tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins as a bandleader. Released on Impulse! in 1965 – his final album as leader to be released in his lifetime – the Bob Thiele-produced session brings together a crack team of musicians backing Hawkins: trumpeters Bill Berry and Snooky Young, trombonist Urbie Green, pianist Barry Harris, bassist Buddy Catlett, and drummer Eddie Locke. The LP spans vintage cinema (the Heinz Provost-penned ‘Intermezzo’, used in the Swedish drama and its American remake of the same name), contemporary standards (‘Red Roses for a Blue Lady’, ‘I Won’t Dance’) and a Hawkins original (‘She’s Fit’), closing the book on a discography of great acclaim. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series titles are mastered from the original analog tapes by Matthew Lutthans, pressed on 180-gram vinyl