VA - Membran Music's Jazz Ballads Series Vol. 11-15 (10 CD, 2004) [FLAC + 320]

 

A CD sets with the most beautiful ballads in the history of jazz.

Lyrical, imaginative, sensuous and melodic jewels from the art of music.

Precisely for those people who have maintained their taste for lasting musical values.

Jazz in its most gentle form.

Irrestible...

Jazz Ballads 11: Lionel Hampton

Jazz Ballads 12: Billie Holiday

Jazz Ballads 13: Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz Ballads 14: Benny Carter

Jazz Ballads 15: Johnny Hodges & Friends

The Paris All-Stars – Homage To Charlie Parker (1990/FLAC)

 

The city of Paris celebrated bop and the spirit of Charlie Parker with several days of all-star concerts in 1989, highlighted by this performance featuring eight giants who either played with the late alto saxophonist or built upon the foundation of his contributions, though the repertoire doesn't draw exclusively from Parker's recordings. The concert was led by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, with alto saxophonists Phil Woods and Jackie McLean, tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Max Roach. Egos are never apparent as the men joyfully support one another and no one goes out of his way to showboat during a solo. Getz is featured in "Warm Valley," Roach is all alone during his three-part "Drummers' Sweet," it's Jackson with the rhythm section in the sentimental "Old Folks," while Heath opens a trio rendition of "Yardbird Suite" with a formidable unaccompanied solo. Dizzy's muted horn is complemented by Jones' spacious piano in a marvelous duet of "Con Alma." Woods and McLean team up for a fun romp through "Cherokee," while everyone returns to the stage for an inspired, smoking interpretation of "A Night in Tunisia," followed by Gillespie's delightful scatting in a burning take of "Oop-Pop-A-Da," which ignites his fellow players. Classical composer Mort Goode's liner notes talk more about the musicians than the performances themselves, so that explains why he didn't catch the bizarre mislabeling of "Steeplechase" as "Birk's Works," or the crediting of Gillespie's "Oop-Pop-A-Da" to Babs Gonzales. Sadly, this A&M CD has been out of print for quite some time, though it is well worth searching for a copy. 

    Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean, Phil Woods

    Bass – Percy Heath

    Drums – Max Roach

    Piano – Hank Jones

    Tenor Saxophone – Stan Getz

    Trumpet – Dizzy Gillespie

    Vibraphone – Milt Jackson

Recorded June 15, 1989 at La Grande Hale - La Villette, Paris 

1. Steeplechase
2. Warm Valley
3. Drummer's Sweet: The Third Eye/Billy the Kid/The Drum Also Waltzes
4. Old Folks
5. Yardbird Suite
6. Con Alma
7. Cherokee
8. A Night in Tunisia
9. Oop-Pop-A-Da

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 21-30

 

 Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 21 - George Benson

VJM 22 - Billy Eckstine

VJM 23 - Gil Evans

VJM 24 - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

VJM 25 - Stan Getz & Dizzy Gillespie

VJM 26 - Lionel Hampton & Oscar Peterson

VJM 27 - Roland Kirk

VJM 28 - Charlie Parker Plays Standards

VJM 29 - Jimmy Smith

VJM 30 - Lester Young

 

The Quintet (Charlie Chan, Charlie Mingus, Max Roach, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie) - Jazz At massey Hall (1956-2004/FLAC)

Bop pioneers Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell,and Max Roach are on fire in this performance given in 1953. Parker is listed as "Charlie Chan" due to his contract with his record label.

 Recorded live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada; May 15, 1953.

• Alto Saxophone – Charlie Chan
• Bass – Charlie Mingus
• Drums – Max Roach
• Piano – Bud Powell
• Trumpet – Dizzy Gillespie

01. Perdido (7:43)

02. Salt Peanuts (7:40)

03. All The Things You Are / 52nd Street Theme (7:51)

04. Wee (A.K.A. Allen's Alley) (6:42)

05. Hot House (9:11)

06. A Night In Tunisia (7:34)

Dizzy Gillespie Big Band - Algo Bueno - The Complete Bluebird/Musicraft Recordings & The Pleyel Concert (1946-1949) (2 CD, 1999/FLAC)

 

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. 

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 1-10

 

Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 1 - Louis Armstrong

VJM 2 - Count Basie

VJM 3 - Chick Corea

VJM 4 - Duke Ellington

VJM 5 - Bill Evans

VJM 6 - Ella Fitzgerald

VJM 7 - Erroll Garner

VJM 8 - Stan Getz

VJM 9 - Astrud Gilberto

VJM 10 - Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie - Verve / Philips Small Group Sessions (7 CD, 2006/FLAC)

 

These sessions document unequivocally why Dizzy Gillespie is still considered one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz, for his mastery of the instrument, his command of time, his control over musical ideas, and his ability to entertain. He was blessed during this period, which spans 1954 to 1963, with stellar sidemen, unparalleled arrangements, and a surge of excitement for making music.

Dizzy Gillespie - The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 (4 CD,2001/FLAC)

 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. 

Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy In South America, Vol. 1-3 [4 CD, 1999-2001/FLAC].rar

 

In 1999, jazz collectors were thrilled to learn that Consolidated Artists Productions (CAP) was putting out a three-volume series focusing on Dizzy Gillespie's 1956 tour of South America. The recordings from that State Department-sponsored tour, which were made by Gillespie's friend Dave Usher, had remained in the can for 43 years and were being released commercially for the first time. In 1956, touring Latin America with a big band was something that most beboppers could only dream of, but thanks to the State Department's support, it became a reality for Gillespie and his sidemen. 

Duke Ellington – Jazz Party In Stereo (1959) [FLAC]

 

Jazz Party is a 1959 album by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra which contains a "formidable gallery of jazz stars" guesting, including Dizzy Gillespie and Jimmy Rushing (formerly the vocalist for Count Basie). It featured also a 9-strong percussion section on two tracks. 

Dizzy Gillespie - The Dizzy Gillespie Story 1939-1950 (4 CD, 2001)

 Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time (some would say the best), Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up copying Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis' emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated. Somehow, Gillespie could make any "wrong" note fit, and harmonically he was ahead of everyone in the 1940s, including Charlie Parker. Unlike Bird, Dizzy was an enthusiastic teacher who wrote down his musical innovations and was eager to explain them to the next generation, thereby insuring that bebop would eventually become the foundation of jazz.