Good Bait

Dizzy Gillespie albums are sometimes criticized for being silly, never for lacking stamina. Pleyel Jazz Concert 1953 is no exception to this rule, though it would certainly be understandable if it were. The live recording, issued and repackaged at least three times since the late '90s, dates from a period when Gillespie was in Paris and as busy as God, as musicians like to say in reference to the deity, not the European noise music band. If datebooks kept by people nicknamed Dizzy are to be trusted, the bebop kingpin had during a previous 48-hour period cut albums for two different competing firms, one involving a string orchestra. About ten collections have been published involving this material. Meanwhile, his rhythm section cut an album on the same day of the Pleyel Concert Hall event, also reissued at least three times and representing the sole effort by pianist Wade Legge as a leader…

Dizzy Gillespie Big Band - Algo Bueno - The Complete Bluebird/Musicraft Recordings & The Pleyel Concert (1946 - 1949)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 717 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 359 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1946-49, 1999 Definitive Records / Disconforme | DR2CD 11138
Jazz / Big Band / Bop / Latin Jazz / Trumpet

This double CD collects all of the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band sides from 1946-1949 for the Bluebird and Musicraft labels, including seven previously unissued cuts. These bands were renowned for their hard-swinging styles that accented the toughness of bebop wailing R&B and Latin/Cuban grooves. Some of Diz's sidemen included Milt Jackson, Cecil Payne, Ray Brown, Willie Bobo, Yusef Lateef, Johnny Hartman, Leo Parker, John Lewis, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Dorham, James Moody, Ernie Henry, Al McKibbon, and dozens of others. Here are formidable versions of "Two Bass Hit," "Cubana Bop," "Jump Did-Le-Ba," "Oop-Pop-A-Da," and many others. In addition to the studio sides there is an entire Paris concert included from a radio transcription, making these sides indispensable. The only downside is the lack of liner notes – though full session notation is included.

This four-disc, 100-track box set traces famed bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's career from his early years with Teddy Hill, Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway through his work with figures like Coleman Hawkins and Billy Eckstine. It includes his 1947 concert at Carnegie Hall with Charlie Parker and concludes with the famous sessions that Gillespie recorded with Parker and Thelonious Monk for Norman Granz in 1950. At a budget price, this package captures Gillespie's peak years and performances and makes a deep introduction to this amazing musician. The sound transfers are decent, but audiophiles may find that the noise reduction processes used on these tracks leaves some of them sounding a little on the thin and muted side. Given the fair price and the volume of material compiled here, though, this set is a smart purchase.