Search - Dizzy Gillespie;Charlie Parker :: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945
Dizzy Gillespie;Charlie Parker
Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (7) - Disc #1

This is a live concert recording of Dizzy and Bird from Town Hall not previously known to have been recorded. With audio restoration by Ted Kendell, the sound is excellent. It is a discovered recording of Dizzy and Bird at...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Dizzy Gillespie;Charlie Parker
Title: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Uptown Jazz
Release Date: 6/21/2005
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Styles: Latin Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Bebop, Vocal Pop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 026198275129

Synopsis

Product Description
This is a live concert recording of Dizzy and Bird from Town Hall not previously known to have been recorded. With audio restoration by Ted Kendell, the sound is excellent. It is a discovered recording of Dizzy and Bird at bebop's inception - the equivalent of finding the Buddy Bolden cylinder. Also features Don Byas, Al Haig, Curley Russell and Max Roach.
 

CD Reviews

Discovery of the Century (So Far)!!!!!!!!
soundandimage | omaha, ne United States | 07/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to believe the good fortune we have of being able to listen to this surprisingly well-recorded, previously lost Town Hall concert concert from June 22, 1945. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Al Haig, Curley Russell, Max Roach & Big Sid Catlett are presented here just months after the first Bop records were recorded in a blistering concert MC'd by the redoubtable Symphony Sid Torin. This is Bop at it's inception, played in the heat of enthusiasm and discovery. Diz is a marvel on every cut, Bird plays as if his very life depended on it, Al Haig is allowed to stretch out as he never was on the original records and the rhythm section of Russell & Roach were creating the sound of the future. Special guests Byas & Big Sid are an added treat. The breaks & solos on "Night In Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts" have lost none of their ability to scare the living s**t out of musicians to this very day. If you have ANY interest in these artists and this music, DO NOT delay and buy this release as soon as you possibly can. Can I give Uptown Records & this CD twenty stars?!?!?!?!?"
Astounding Discovery
K. Hooker | Dallas, Texas USA | 06/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This previously unknown concert recording from 1945 of one of the greatest groups in jazz history, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet with Charlie Parker, exceeds the listener's lofty expectations. First, the quality of the music is at the highest level of inspiration, with the innovations of Parker and Gillespie still fresh, new and exciting. Parker and Gillespie are both in astounding form. Second, the quality of the recording is very good--this is easily one of the best recorded live concerts of this era. Third, this release is from Uptown Records, and hence is meticulously prepared and researched. In short, this is an essential jazz recording and one of the great music discoveries of the last fifty years."
Another "Dead Sea Scrolls" musical discovery!! Absolutely th
Jana L. Perskie | New York, NY USA | 10/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker hooked up in late June of 1945 for this knock-out concert at Town Hall, New York City, maybe for a post-VE Day celebration! With a history somewhat reminiscent of another newly released CD, "Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane," these recordings, as acetates, were buried somewhere for sixty years and no one knew they existed in their entirety. Thus, this is the first time the concert has ever been released. Sixty years in the "lost and found!!" Makes one wonder what other treasures are buried out there! I recently read a comment that, "...the discovery of this recording is a Dead Sea Scrolls kind of event." For jazz/bebop lovers, it is so true!



Unlike the Monk/Coltrane find, the quality of this recording is uneven, but the quality of the music is simply superb! The brilliance of young jazz greats Parker's and Gillespie's music shines through. At a time when jazz meant big band sound to most folks, Dizzy and Bird were discovering bebop, and coming out with classics like "A Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts" for the first time. The quintet's rhythm section, with great bop bassist Curley Russell, percussionist Max Roach and pianist Al Haig, is outstanding! Billed as Gillespie's Quintet, and playing mostly Dizzy's tunes, underrated tenor sax player Don Byas stands in for Bird until the tardy Parker shows for his gig. Big Sid Catlett makes a brief appearance for his solo on "Hothouse." And, as a campy side event, there is commentary by "Symphony" Sid Torin, a famous New York City disc jockey who covered the jazz scene, and introduces, announces and occasionally banters with the musicians and audience.



Dizzy often said, when speaking of his musical collaboration with Parker, that Bird was "the other half of my heartbeat." The famous quote was actually prefaced by the following: "He had just what we needed. He had the line and he had the rhythm. The way he got from one note to the other and the way he played the rhythm fit what we were trying to do perfectly." It is amazingly clear, on this recording, how in sync these two musicians were and are. Their exquisite timing, their humor, their talent and virtuosity - unbelievable!! Gillespie's solo on "Groovin' High" is sublime as is Bird's transition into it.



"Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945" is a remarkable find, a CD for every jazz lovers' collection. To be able to listen to this album and the "Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane" CD, (both lost for decades and just released, within a 3 month period of each other), is an amazing gift. The only downside is that the Dizzy/Bird recording is a mere 40 minutes long...but you can play it over and over!



This Uptown Jazz Records presentation includes a 30 page booklet with notes by Ira Gitler, describing how the priceless acetate discs were discovered and turned into this compact disc project. Photos are from the Frank Driggs Collection and reprints of concert reviews from the NYC press. Also included are some technical notes by Ted Kendall, who is responsible for this remastering.

JANA"