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Hampton was exquisite in any of the Goodman small groups with which he played. Even more shimmering than the Quartet's "Stompin' At The Savoy" was the beautiful "Memories of You" by the Goodman Sextet of the 1940s, with Charlie Christian on guitar as well. And if you want flat out exuberance, it doesn't get much better than the Quartet's "Avalon". Not to mention a jam-session setup performance at the Carnegie Hall concert of "Honeysuckle Rose" (though the real treat on that number is when a surprised Freddie Green - Count Basie's great rhythm guitarist, a.k.a. "Father Time" - is handed a solo spot he would never have expected; never a soloist, Green simply thought on his feet and chunked out a cleverly improvised round of mid-to-upper chords over the bass and drums).

Very cool, Blues. Thanks. (And thanks for pinging me anyway, OPH. Very thoughtful of you.) My dad was a huge (pardon me, that's not quite accurate: HUGE) Django Reinhardt fan, and I am one as well. I'm glad I hadn't yet been born when he died. This stuff is hard, no matter how long they live.