[3] Hawkins denied being first and noted his contemporaries Happy Caldwell, Stump Evans, and Prince Robinson, although he was the first to tailor his method of improvisation to the saxophone rather than imitate the techniques of the clarinet.

Hawkins' virtuosic, arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that included Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas, and through them the later tenormen, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears,[4] Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson.

[7] Theories around the nickname's basis include a reference to Hawkins' head shape, his frugality (saying "I haven't a bean") or due to his immense knowledge of chords.

While with the band, he and Henry "Red" Allen recorded a series of small group sides for ARC (on their Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, and Oriole labels).

In late 1934, Hawkins accepted an invitation to play with Jack Hylton's orchestra in London,[6] and toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, performing and recording with Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter in Paris in 1937.

[14] During Hawkins' time touring Europe between 1934 and 1939, attention in the U.S. shifted to other tenor saxophonists, including Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Chu Berry.

In a landmark recording of the swing era, captured as an afterthought at the session, Hawkins ignores almost all of the melody, with only the first four bars stated in a recognizable fashion.

[15] Loren Schoenberg, Director of National Jazz Museum in Harlem, states that “no matter how nonchalantly Hawkins tried to make the choice to record "Body And Soul" seem, it had long been his encore during his European years, and he had a lot riding on this session.

The sounds of Bach, Tatum, Armstrong, and the untold musicians who had filled his head and ears culminated in one of the greatest spontaneous set of variations ever recorded".

[17] Hawkins always had a keen ear for new talent and styles, and he was the leader on what is generally considered to have been the first ever bebop recording session on February 16, 1944 including Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas, Clyde Hart, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach.

[16] In 1945, he recorded extensively with small groups with Best and either Robinson or Pettiford on bass, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Allan Reuss on guitar, Howard McGhee on trumpet, and Vic Dickenson on trombone,[6] in sessions reflecting a highly individual style with an indifference toward the categories of "modern" and "traditional" jazz.

That general period saw him recording with such diverse stylists as Sid Catlett, Tyree Glenn, Hilton Jefferson (a Fletcher Henderson colleague), Hank Jones, Billy Taylor, J. J. Johnson and Fats Navarro.

With Kenny Burrell With Benny Carter With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis With Dizzy Gillespie With Tiny Grimes With Fletcher Henderson With Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan With Abbey Lincoln With Shelly Manne With Thelonious Monk With Bud Powell With Bob Prince With Django Reinhardt With Max Roach With Rex Stewart and Cootie Williams With Ben Webster With Randy Weston With Joe Williams