If the blues defined popular music of the 20th century, Coleman Hawkins — born four years into said century, and largely fueled by that 12-bar form — was nearly as undeniable a constant through its first half, if a less heralded one. It’s a consistency that’s only really possible to see in retrospect, since his contemporary popularity ebbed and owed: this record, The Hawk Flies High, cemented something of a comeback upon its release in 1957, when Hawk was 52. As more and more jazz subgenres emerged, nostalgic aficionados became increasingly aware of and reverent toward the music’s rich history — to which Hawk was, of course, central. The Missouri native is generally credited with establishing the tenor saxophone as a jazz instrument, but he was playing the music when jazz was “jass” al...