If you haven’t heard Lionel Hampton sing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” then you haven’t lived. At last night’s concert at the Maine Center for the Arts, the King of the Vibes and his outrageously excellent 15-man band dedicated an encore performance of this sweet old standard to the University of Maine. And he brought the house down with his raspy voice and charismatic friendliness.

“I thought I was in paradise when I got on campus today. It was so beautiful,” said Hampton, who began playing the vibes at the urging of Armstrong back in 1930.

Hampton started the concert a half-hour late and the audience was clearly growing impatient in the lag time. But the second Hamp stepped into the spotlight and slowly progressed to center stage, you knew it was worth the wait. At 89, he carried with him more than 65 years of American jazz history, and it nearly would have been enough just to see him make that hike without playing any music at all.

Yet Hampton came to play, and play he did. Amazingly, he still has a quality of freshness and dazzle about him, and he has a hot-shot band that backs him up with some seriously brilliant music. Hamp himself played tiny melodies on his vibes and sang along when he could remember the words to songs such as “Brand New Baby” and “Sunny Side of the Street.”

His playing was unhurried and feather-light — although sometimes quite snuffed by the volume of the brass around him. But his presence added an ageless vibrancy to the show and there was a definite sense that it was his dynamite musical sensibilities that were driving the show. He often sat back and just listened to the skillful musicians around him, calling out “Go, go, go!” and taking in the music with a sincerely spontaneous fascination.

And who wouldn’t be blown away by the dextrous workings of these fine musicians? Bolstered by an obvious admiration and warmth for their legendary leader, the guys rocked the Maine Center with a prodigious level of musical ability. Whether playing the mellow “When I Fall in Love” (with a steamy jazz flute solo by Cleave Guyton), or the more raucous “Flyin’ High,” this set of jam-session junkies was probably one of the best big-band groups to perform locally in recent memory. Watching Patrick Rickman do the hustle with his trumpet, or Ray Franks bop on the sax, or Kuni Mikami chill out on the piano was the type of bruising performance that compels you to wiggle and giggle with complicit pleasure.

The rumble of Hampton’s concert did more than hint at the greatness that his playing once had. He holds a meritorious place in the world of jazz and, at 89, can shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo (and get an entire hall to shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo back) with as much enthusiasm as ever. What a wonderful world, indeed.