Original Recordings 1937-1946Lionel Hampton was the first jazz vibraphonist and one of the jazz giants beginning in the mid-1930s. Throughout his career he remained musically open-minded without changing his basic swing style. Hampton was originally a drummer for many groups including Les Hite’s band, which accompanied Louis Armstrong for a while. At a recording session in 1930, a vibraphone happened to be in the studio, and Armstrong asked Hampton (who had practiced on one previously) if he could play a little bit behind him and on ´Memories of You´ and ´Shine´ Hamp became the first jazz improviser to record on vibes. This disc presents recordings from the period 1937-1946, a time during which Hampton recorded regularly with specially assembled all-star groups that formed a who’s who of swing and also formed his own band in 1942.