Erskine Hawkins earned the nickname “the 20th Century Gabriel” for his command of high-note trumpet playing and his popularity as a bandleader. He first studied drums and trombone, then took up the trumpet at age thirteen. While enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College he assumed leadership of the school ensemble, the ’Bama State Collegians. The group relocated to New York in 1934, adopted the name Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, began recording in 1936, and achieved notable success by 1938. Trumpet solos were shared by Hawkins and Dud Bascomb, tenor saxophone duties alternated between Paul Bascomb and Julian Dash, Haywood Henry played baritone saxophone, and Avery Parrish sat at the piano; the resulting ensemble delivered a solidly swinging style that pleased both dancers and jazz listeners. Hawkins scored three major hits—“Tuxedo Junction,” “After Hours,” and “Tippin’ In”—and sustained the full big band until 1953, although some of its final dates leaned more toward R&B while retaining clear jazz qualities. In his later decades he fronted a smaller group; the surviving members of the original orchestra reunited for a recording session in 1971, and Hawkins himself remained active as a trumpeter into the 1980s.
