William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege.
Career
Hardman was born and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio,
and worked with local players including
Bobby Few and Bob Cunningham; while in high school he appeared with
Tadd Dameron, and after graduation he joined
Tiny Bradshaw's band.
Hardman's first recording was with
Jackie McLean in 1956; he later played with
Charles Mingus,
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,
Horace Silver, and
Lou Donaldson, and led a group with
Junior Cook.
Hardman also recorded as a leader:
Saying Something on the
Savoy Records received critical acclaim in jazz circles, but was little known to the general public. He had three periods in as many decades with Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers;
Hardman's misfortune was not to be with the Messengers at the time of their popular Blue Note recordings. Blakey occasionally featured him playing several extended choruses unaccompanied.
He died in Paris, France, of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 57.
Playing style and legacy
A crackling hard bop player with blazing technique, crisp articulations, and a no-frills sound, Hardman later incorporated into his sound the fuller, more extroverted romantic passion of a
Clifford Brown – a direction he would take increasingly throughout the late-1960s and 1970s. He figures by and large among the top ranks of hardbop titans of the time, although he never managed a commercial breakthrough like many of his colleagues such as
Donald Byrd,
Freddie Hubbard and
Lee Morgan.
Discography
As leader
With Brass Company
-
1975 Colors (Strata-East)
As sideman
With Art Blakey
-
Hard Bop (Columbia, 1956)
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Drum Suite (Columbia, 1957)
-
Selections from Lerner and Loewe's... (Vik, 1957)
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A Night in Tunisia (Vik, 1957)
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Cu-Bop (Jubilee, 1957)
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(Pacific Jazz 1957)
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A Midnight Session with the Jazz Messengers (Elektra, 1957)
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Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk (Atlantic, 1957)
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Hard Drive (Bethlehem, 1957)
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Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957)
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Jazz Messengers '70 (Catalyst, 1970)
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Tough! (Cadet, 1966) – rec. 1957
-
Live! Vol. 1 (TRIP, 1974) – live rec. 1968
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Backgammon (Roulette, 1976)
-
Originally (Columbia, 1982) – rec. 1956
With Lou Donaldson
With Charles Earland
-
Infant Eyes (Muse, 1979)
-
Pleasant Afternoon (Muse, 1981)
With Curtis Fuller
-
Crankin' (Mainstream, 1971)
-
Smokin' (Mainstream, 1972)
With Jackie McLean
-
Jackie's Pal (Prestige, 1956)
-
McLean's Scene (New Jazz, 1956)
-
Jackie McLean & Co. (Prestige, 1957)
With others
-
Dave Bailey, 2 Feet in the Gutter (Epic, 1961)
-
Walter Bishop Jr, Hot House (Muse, 1979)
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Junior Cook, Good Cookin' (Muse, 1979)
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Benny Golson, Pop + Jazz = Swing (Audio Fidelity, 1961) – also released as Just Jazz!
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Eddie Jefferson, Come Along with Me (Prestige, 1969)
-
Ronnie Mathews, Legacy (Bee Hive, 1979)
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Jimmy McGriff, Movin' Upside the Blues (JAM, 1982)
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Charles Mingus, A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (Bethlehem, 1957)
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Hank Mobley, Hank Mobley (album) (Blue Note, 1957)
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Houston Person, Wild Flower (Muse, 1977)
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Sonny Stitt, In Walked Sonny (Sonnet, 1975)
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Mickey Tucker, Sojourn (Xanadu, 1977)
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Steve Turre, Viewpoints and Vibrations (Stash, 1987)
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Mal Waldron, Mal/2 (Prestige, 1957)
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Reuben Wilson, The Sweet Life (Groove Merchant, 1973)
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Dodo Marmarosa, Dodo Marmarosa - The Chicago Sessions (1961-1962)2 (Argo Jazz, LP2, 1962-11-02)
