Just Jazz; Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's Small Bands: 1940s-50s, Pt. 1

Transcript

You You Just jazz at beach with you for the first of two sessions on the small bands of Dizzy Gillespie and not be re-titled I suppose Dizzy Gillespie and various small bands because all of these recordings of course won't be with

Regularly organized working bands small bands and big bands for Dizzy here it's been back and forth all through the years He's really a product of the big band era of course he came in and came up smack into the middle of it This first important job as you know replacing Royal Grinch on the Teddy Hill band in 1937 in New York and then touring in Europe with that band And then it was a whole stream of big bands mostly for short periods except of course for the Cab Callaway band which he was featured for a couple of years And then more big bands for the most part until that that important first Bob-oriented band to appear on 52nd Street when that street really swung in 1944 Late in the year it was co-led by Oscar Pettiford and it was quite a line up too Dizzy O.P. Don Bias on tenor George Wallington on Piano one of the best of younger Bob-men Max Roach on drums and created quite a stir that band as you might well imagine

There were didn't record intact not quite with the same personnel And then an early 1945 edition of a of a Gillespie small unit on the street too And he organized his first big band in 1945 for that rather disastrous tour in the South And back to the small band format again for the famous Dizzy bird combination Charlie Parker And Gillespie out of the coast to Bergs and that somewhat less than sensational successful engagement And finally back to organized in the big band that did stay in business for about four years until 1950 when the big band business of course wasn't extremely poor condition and Dizzy had dropped the big band since then of course except for that 1956-57 period

He has worked almost exclusively with a small unit usually his quintet We'll be hearing those big bands sides too on a couple of other shows to feature the big bands of the 40s and the 50s But here it's very a small unit of the 40s and the 50s And we ought to get into the way I suppose with some Dizzy and some bird and just think that it'd be appropriate And some wonderful things on things into a figure used to go out also it's still used today of course

It became more or less standard along with all things you are Jerome Kerns all the things you are And the one the one standard with its own melody its own original melody used in those famous 1945 sessions that Created a revolution really there for the first all Bob sides issued and gild 1945 February of that year Charlie Parker's alto and Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet of course Clyde Hart was the pianist and died that same year Rima Palmieri and guitar Slam stood on bass and cozy cool on drums the rhythm section possible exception of Palmieri was swing oriented but the front line of course Needless to say was Was vintage bebop you Hello

my you you you

but still working on it we got ourselves the bonus of the old 52nd Street theme sign-off and uh and all the things you are eight years later the famous Massey Hall concert in Toronto in 1953 May was recorded fourth Charlie Mingus' debut label she had at that time Mingus was on base and uh his catalog was sold to fantasy later and all that material became available again which is very fine fantasy set called jazz at Massey Hall parker was built as Charlie Chan here for contractual reasons dizzy and bud with the solo

the late bud pal max roach was the drummer and you had a classic bop group here certainly the addition of Mingus who was in an out and there was a man around that time and very much the freelancer on the New York scene at that time too all the things you are number two dizzy ballads it you

dizzy and the chorus that denises everything happens to me yeah with some French musicians backing him for the most part in 1952 on the French Vogue label see what he can do with the ballad a unique style really with those uh sometimes seemingly wayward improvisatory lines in there yet all contributing to the whole and with the lyricism of their own some lyricism on monk um

you you Yeah, round midnight, the loneliest monk. Famous session for dial in 1946. It was the band really that

except for the absence of Charlie Parker and the substitution of Lucky Thompson who worked at the club with him many times, substituting for Parker during that Billy Berg's engagement in Hollywood in late 45. He was remade in February of 1946 for Ross Russell's dial and they kicked around a number of small labels baronette jazz tone. When he went out of business and sold his catalog, he would line up too. Lucky with his pretty big sound, a big pretty sound. Mill Jackson and Vibes, now Hagon Piano, the most brilliant of the young modern pianists of course, that time, the most subtle I imagine. Ray Brown and Basin stand leaving on drums. Out Hollywood way. Munk's tune. Let me go to the street.

Codes. Boots. And everything. Leave your worries on the doorstep cause we're gone by and by

just arrange your feet. You'll look neat on the sunny side of the street. Can't you hear the better and the better on the rain drops trickling down. Your fire's skating ladder. Life can be so fine. Finds man a chair. It's fine. I used to walk in the shade with my blues on parade. Well, I'm not afraid. Cosmerovans are over. Blast over if I never have a sense. I'll be rich as Rockefeller with gold dust at my feet on the sunny. Guess on the sunny. Well, on the sunny side of the street.

Dizzy's group with stuff Smith added. They jammed together sometimes on the street in the mid-40s. Stuff was still a part of that scene and recorded together too. Again in the 50s and at least once after this. Here for Dizzy's own label. When he was in that business for a short time. Called DG. Those masters were sold to Savoy. Sun is out of the street. Jimmy McHugh and his own tune. The stuff Smith's violin and Dizzy's trumpet and Dizzy's regular working band of that time. Bill Graham on Bertone. Double tonne out. Milton Jackson. Double tonne vibes and piano. Pressing heaths based on Jones on drums. The sentence of what I call the champ. Dizzy Gillespie. The champ goes afloat.

That's pretty thing. By Dizzy himself called Afro Paris.

It was done in 1952. They get in Paris appropriately. This was a mixed bag. Dizzy's sitting in with various groups and pickup groups. That was Joe Benjamin on bass and Bill Clark on drums. They were with leader horns accompanying trio. Happened to be in Paris at the time. Dizzy was there with his quintet and Don Bias with whom we heard him. We heard Dizzy on the the earlier recordings. Of course we'll hear him again too. He was involved with Dizzy on the street, particularly in that first combo. First Bob combo of late 1944. It was in here for his solo tune. It's an old blue note. Afro Paris. Hard of plenty. Dizzy in Paris in 1952. Dizzy mainly in New York. But all over the place musically. Here on just jazz. Ed Beach with you. Dizzy in small bands.

The 40s and 50s. Let's break. Yeah. Dizzy. And that regular working band too. About the same period. Just a wee bit later as a matter of fact. Same kind of groove though. So gill fuller. Chanopoza. Dizzy collaboration. Tintin. Dale. Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye.

Boye.

Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye. Boye.