His Story / 01
A life arranged in full color.
Slide Hampton did more than master the trombone. He imagined new ways for musicians to move together—then wrote those possibilities into being.
Born Locksley Wellington Hampton, Slide grew up inside music. Rehearsals, performances, and life on the road were part of the family language.
The youngest of twelve, he began as a singer and dancer before taking up trombone at twelve. What began as circumstance became one of jazz’s most recognizable signatures.
The beginning
Music was the family language.
The Hampton family settled in Indianapolis, where Slide encountered a thriving jazz community. Touring with the family band taught him how to listen, support a soloist, read a room, and make an ensemble breathe.
The timeline
A life in motion.
Born in Jeannette
Locksley Wellington Hampton is born on April 21, the youngest of twelve children in a deeply musical family.
A trombone finds its voice
At twelve, he takes up the trombone while touring with the family band and learns to play left-handed.
Carnegie Hall
The Hampton family band appears at Carnegie Hall, opening for Lionel Hampton. Soon, Slide joins Lionel’s orchestra.
The Slide Hampton Octet
He forms a compact, daring ensemble whose ranks include Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and George Coleman.
A wider world
A European tour with Woody Herman becomes an extended stay and years of collaboration.
Home—and a new sound
Back in the United States, he develops World of Trombones: nine trombones with a rhythm section.
Grammy recognition
His arrangement of “Cotton Tail” for Dee Dee Bridgewater earns a Grammy Award.
NEA Jazz Master
The National Endowment for the Arts names him an NEA Jazz Master.
The music continues
Slide Hampton dies on November 18. His sound lives on in musicians, ensembles, and arrangements.
“Everything that’s really of quality requires a lot of work.”
Slide Hampton, NEA interview
The legacy
A legacy carried by people.
A Grammy for arranging “Cotton Tail,” another connected to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s celebration of his music, and his 2005 designation as an NEA Jazz Master affirmed what generations already knew: Slide Hampton was a builder.