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[edit] Father of Jazz Saxophone

Although Hawkins was an early pioneer, he arguably shares the title of "Father of Jazz Saxophone" with Sidney Bechet. Searching for Father of Jazz Saxophone on Google showed both men were so attributed. -- SeanO 12:41, Mar 15, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] education

The article reads as follows:

Coleman Hawkins pictured in the Topeka High School orchestra from the 1921 yearbook.

Coleman Hawkins was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri. He attended high school in Chicago, then in Topeka, Kansas. He later stated that he studied harmony and composition for two years at Washburn College in Topeka. In his youth he played piano and cello, and started playing sax at age 9; by age 16 he was playing professionally. He joined Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921 with whom he toured through 1923,

Now, I admit to being confused. I know he was living in Topeka Kansas during the 1920-1921 school year, because he is pictured (second from the right) in the big photo of the band in the 1921 Sunflower, the THS yearbook. (link to very small copy of original photo) [1] Every source says he was born (November 21, 1904. So, at the start of the 1920-1921 school year, he would have been sixteen years old, and aguably a sophomore. Perhaps a Jr, but with a November birthdate, unlikely. Many web sites quote Hawk as saying he studied composition at Washburn, but WHEN? He started playing in KC in 1921. Was he commuting the two hours back and forth from KC to Topeka? Was this a special tutorial for a gifted high school student? Does anyone have a better source? Rick Boatright 23:59, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I don't have any of my references with me (I'm on the road for work), but I recall reading that Hawkins was vain and often lied about his age. It wouldn't surprise me if he was one or two years older than he admitted to. Let me get back to my sources and see if I can find any applicable information. Of course, a definitive source (eg: birth certificate, 1910 or 1920 Census records) would be ideal to find, but hard to come by. -- SeanO 01:13, August 23, 2005 (UTC)

I've done some research and most older sources use the 1904 date (eg: Gunther Schuler's the Swing Era), a newer source uses a 1901 birthdate (the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD: 7th Edition). I'm inclined to put 1901 or 1904 in the bio as the birthdate (as I did for the Nat King Cole article, until I got better information). -- SeanO 01:19, August 27, 2005 (UTC)