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The Lionel Hampton group performing in an unidentified lounge/showroom with several of his band members. Lionel is performing on a vibraphone. Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996. The vibraphone (also known as the vibraharp or simply the vibes) consists of tuned metal bars, and is usually played by holding two or four soft mallets and striking the bars. The vibraphone is commonly used in jazz music, in which it often plays a featured role and was a defining element of the sound of mid-20th-century "Tiki lounge" exotica, as popularized by Arthur Lyman.