Dizzy Gillespie - One Night In Washington (1983)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

A release in the Elektra/Musician label's Jazz Master Series, a previously unreleased performance from the private collection of Bill Potts, recorded live on Sunday, March 13, 1955, at Club Kavakos, Washington, D.C., "The Home of the Largest Glass of Beer."

Liner notes from Dizzy Gillespie as well as producer/archivist Bill Potts and Dizzy describe the scene:

Click to enlarge.

Exactly as advertised, we're treated to Dizzy playing his signature Afro-Cuban bebop big band music featuring a 17 minute Afro Suite, originally titled Manteca Suite. Energy is high, Dizzy is in fine form, and the band is tight. It sounds like the place was packed and the joint was swingin' that evening. 

Including this album, Bill Potts also contributed three tapes from his archives to the Elektra/Musician Jazz Masters series. Potts also contributed posthumous releases from Bud Powell and Charlie Parker.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "Exhilarating."
• Musician: "never bolder nor more inspired"
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 6 tracks and they're all smokin', but my top picks are the aforementioned Afro Suite and Caravan.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ken Burns JAZZ Collection (2000)

Endlessly (1988)

Dizzy Gillespie - Endlessly (1988)

A 71-year-old jazz great phoning it in. Sad, but I can't say that I blame him. You'd think his agent would have insisted on better than these tepid synth and string arrangements that somehow manage to make material by Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, and Marvin Gaye sound mediocre. There's no denying that Gillespie made great contributions to jazz music over his long, storied career. This attempt at a pop/soul/jazz crossover isn't one of them. I will give Gillespie credit for playing trumpet better at 71 than I've ever sounded in my life. He had absolutely amazing technical sklls.

Tracks: The only halfway decent track is the final cut, There You Are, but even that is marred by the string arrangement. It would have worked with just a traditional combo, so there's really no need for the strings.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I've actually owned 2 copies of this CD. I received my first copy in a lot of 7 or 8 jazz CDs I purchased from eBay. I brought the CD to work one day just to let a co-worker (and fellow trumpet player) hear how disappointing it was. It turns out this co-worker had actually owned a copy of the LP when he was in high school and he not only knew all the tunes, he could sing along with the solos. I immediately gave him my CD, knowing that he'd enjoy it, if only for nostalgia's sake. A year or two later, I bought another jazz lot and this CD turned up again. I won't sell or give this CD away for fear that another copy will somehow appear in my collection.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ken Burns JAZZ Collection (2000)

Dizzy Gillespie - Ken Burns JAZZ Collection (2000)

I'm not particularly a big fan of bebop, but being a trumpet player, I figured I should be somewhat familiar with Gillespie's music, prompting the purchase of this Gillespie compilation. I would have thought that CDs related to Ken Burns' JAZZ mini-series would have come with extensive liner notes, but unfortunately, that's not the case here. I guess I should read the autobiography, To Be or Not To Bop. Gillespie's playing will never be duplicated. I know I could never duplicate any of his stuff.

Tracks: My favorite tune here is Manteca. Of course, A Night in Tunisia is a jazz standard for good reason, it's a great piece. I prefer Gillespie's Afro-Cuban/Latin-flavored music over his bebop tunes. Unfortunately, there aren't many in this compilation. I don't care for heavy bop tracks like Things to Come.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: purchased in the early 2000's, as I was in a phase where I was taking my trumpet playing/practicing very seriously. That phase has long since passed; I now refer to myself as a "recovering trumpet player."