Locksley Hampton

Locksley “Slide” Hampton

(April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021)

Photographed on December 17, 2007 at the Indiana History Center, Indianapolis

NEA Jazz Master and two-time Grammy winner, Slide Hampton, spent his formative years in Indianapolis, the youngest of twelve children, all of whom played an instrument and performed in the Duke Hampton Band.  Hampton's career is among the most distinguished in jazz.  Although Hampton was right-handed, as a child he was given a trombone set up to play left-handed, which he continued to play, making him one of the few left-handed trombone players of all time.

At the age of 12, Slide played in his family's Indianapolis jazz band and at the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Band. He played with Buddy Johnson's R&B band from 1955–1956, then became a member of Maynard Ferguson's band (1957–1959).  As his reputation grew, he soon began working with bands led by Art Blakey, Tadd Dameron, Barry Harris, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, and Max Roach, contributing both original compositions and arrangements. In 1962, he formed the Slide Hampton Octet, with horn players Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and George Coleman. In 1968 he toured with the Woody Herman orchestra, settling in Europe where he remained until 1977. He taught at Harvard, the University of Massachusetts, DePaul University in Chicago, and Indiana State University. During this period, he led his own nine-trombone, three-rhythm band, World of Trombones, co-led Continuum (a quintet with Jimmy Heath that plays the music of Tadd Dameron) and freelanced as both a writer and a player. 

The 1990's were spent doing an enormous volume of work. He continued to develop the Slide Hampton Quartet and Quintet, toured the world with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, was a special advisor and arranger for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and arranged numerous recording projects around the world. Slide Hampton's countless collaborations with the most prominent musicians of jazz were acknowledged by the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Arrangement with a Vocalist.  Slide's arranging talents were acknowledged again when he received the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement. 

Over the years, Mr. Hampton was a teacher and mentor to countless younger musicians, especially trombonists. A charismatic figure, master arranger, and formidable trombonist, Slide Hampton holds a place of distinction in the jazz tradition.