CD1
1. Dizzy's Blues
2. School Days
3. Dizzy Speaks
4. Doodlin'
5. Manteca
6. I Remember Clifford
7. Cool Breeze
8. Sign Off
9. Roses of Picardy
10. Silhouette
11. Can You Recall?
12. O Solow
13. Cool Eyes
14. Confusion
15. Pile Driver
16. Hob Nail Special
CD2
1. Dizzy's Business
2. Jessica's Day
3. Tour de Force
4. I Can't Get Started
5. Doodlin'
6. Night in Tunisia
7. Stella by Starlight
8. The Champ
9. My Reverie
10. Dizzy's Blues
11. Emanon
12. Ool-Ya-Koo
13. Stay On It
14. Good Bait
15. One Bass Hit
16. Manteca
It is well known that big bands struggled for existence after the
Second World War, as the financial constraints and logistical problems
put pressure on anyone who wanted to keep a big band together. Yet
Dizzy Gillespie managed to form a big band and keep it in one piece
for periods in the late 1940s and again in the 1950s. As you would
expect with the irrepressible Gillespie, the bands were energetic
and good-humoured ensembles and they often played with huge power
as well as the technical dexterity which characterised bebop.
In fact, on this double album of reissued LPs, mainly from the mid-fifties,
the power can be overwhelming, with the band sounding like a heavy
metal version of bebop. Dizzy's numerous trumpet solos can also be
hard on the ears, as he often plays stratospherically high. Nevertheless,
this ia an interesting set of reissues, despite Avid's irritating
habit of making information about personnels, soloists and recording
dates difficult to find because they have squeezed the (incomplete)
facts into too small a space.
The first seven tracks come from Dizzy Gillespie
at Newport, capturing the band performing to an enthusiastic crowd
at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1957. The music is certainly
spirited, driven along by the drums of Charlie Persip, who fills any
gaps most expertly. Dizzy takes the lion's share of the solo space
but he also allows room for solos from the likes of trombonist Al
Grey, pianist Wynton Kelly and baritone saxist Pee Wee Moore. Gillespie
gives Pee Wee a huge build-up before Doodlin' but Pee Wee only
plays the first six notes of each chorus!
Benny Golson's arrangement of his own composition,
I Remember Clifford, shows that the band can play with thoughtful
grace rather than noisy excess. But the vaudeville aspect of the band
is clear when the musicians chant in unison "I'll never go back
to Georgia" at the start of Manteca, which is the high
point of the band's extrovert tracks. Golson and Gillespie supply
inventive solos and the band executes a fascinating upwards glissando
- first on the saxes and then on the brass. The whole set has a happy
atmosphere.
The remaining tracks on the first CD come from the
1954 album Dizzy Gillespie and Strings. The title of this LP
was a misnomer, as Dizzy only plays with string accompaniment on half
the eight tracks. These were arranged by Johnny Richards and include
woodwinds, French horns and a jazz rhythm section, as well as nine
stringed instruments. These tracks are not as successful as Charlie
Parker's similar experiments with string backings, as Gillespie's
high-pitched trumpet blends less comfortably with strings than Parker's
alto-sax did.
The four other tracks were arranged by Buster Harding, who had worked
for the Count Basie Orchestra, and it is noticeable that the arrangements
use traditional voicings (e.g. smooth sax ensembles) alongside Dizzy's
bebop.
The second CD in this compilation starts with ten tracks
from Dizzy Gillespie: World Statesman, recalling the Gillespie
Big Band's tour of the Middle East, sponsored by the State Department.
Dizzy again takes many of the solo opportunities but we also hear
from such musicians as Phil Woods, Melba Liston, Billy Mitchell and
Joe Gordon. Doodlin' reappears, but in a less burlesque version
than previously. The Champ includes a long, impressive drum
solo from Charlie Persip.
The second CD ends with six tracks originally released
on a ten-inch LP: Gene Norman Presents Dizzy Gillespie and his
Orchestra, recorded at Pasadena in 1948. Dizzy's jokey side is
displayed in his nonsensical vocal duet with Ernie Henry on Ool-Ya-Koo.
But much of the LP was dominated by the forceful conga drums of Chano
Pozo, who contributed to Gillespie's experiments in Afro-Cuban rhythms
but who died shortly after this recording was made. The playing here
is possibly even more intense than on the 1950s' recordings.
As ever, this Avid compilation provides good value, although the
ear-piercing quality of some tunes made me remember why I prefer Dizzy
Gillespie in the generally quieter ambience of a small group rather
than a big band.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Avid AMSC 968
