Customer Reviews

Birks Works: Verve Big Band Sessions

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dizzy Gillespie always hankered to lead a big band, but like most post-war big band leaders he found that they just were no longer economically viable. His first big-band efforts, recorded on Savoy & RCA Victor, date from the heyday of bop; that band broke up, but this later band, from 1956-57, is made up of a terrific mix of hungry up-and-coming hard boppers like Lee Morgan, Benny Golson & Ernie Henry and other musicians like Phil Woods, Al Grey, Wynton Kelly & Joe Gordon. This band was decidedly a Cold War-era band: its three albums (compiled on this 2-fer set) were called _Dizzy Gillespie: World Statesman_, _Dizzy in Greece_ and _Birks' Works_, & the band basically survived by touring around the world, sponsored by the US Government. (For more information on Gillespie's bandleading & its background, the curious should look at Scott DeVeaux's marvellous book _The Birth of Bebop_.) After they returned to the US the band broke up in 1958--ironically enough, as an interview in the liner notes points out, just before their recording of "Over the Rainbow" became their first jukebox hit.

OK, so what of the music? Well, it's hard-hitting big band material, with charts by Ernie Wilkins, Benny Golson, Quincy Jones, Melba Liston & others. Surprisingly there's little material showing the interest in Afro-Cuban fusion which Gillespie elsewhere showed. There's a certain amount of throwaway material--silly nonsense songs like "Umbrella Man", or the disappointing "The Champ" which after a terrific Gillespie scat intro becomes a long drum solo for Charlie Persip. Melba Liston inexplicably provides the umpteenth jazz reorchestration of Grieg's "Anitra's Dance" and Debussy's "Reverie". But the rest is prime Gillespiana--often revisiting past tunes like "A Night in Tunisia" but also providing first hearing to important material like Golson's "Whisper Not" and "Stablemates". The man himself solos mightily, & the rest of the band is superb too.

One caveat, however: there are two serious remastering problems with the release. First: the previously unreleased take of "Whisper Not" is afflicted with bad reverb, to the point of unlistenability. Second: the master take of "Whisper Not" has several odd volume fluctuations, including a strange moment where the rhythm section triples in volume for a second. One wishes that record companies paid closer attention to the products they released--in every other respect this CD is a model reissue.

This is probably the best and only real documentation of Dizzy's big band of the late 1950's available on CD today.
It includes all the material they recorded on three albums released back then. Along with live at Newport, grab this while you can.

I'm not real big on the vocal numbers, but that's just Dizzy and the band having fun - once the band kicks in, it makes up for it all. Why shouldn't it? with a lineup of Wynton Kelly, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Quincy Jones - and the list goes on and on of great musicians on this CD, it will dazzle you.

Dizzy is in top form - his playing will bring a smile to your face on every tune!

First class be-bop!
Fabulous music from 3 Gillespie's LP's (plus some alternate takes and previously not published oddities) gives a great insight in the methods of adjusting the big-band format to modern jazz. Constantly exciting, with just a few commercial tracks, this collection is essential to any fan of modern jazz.
Feel free to ignore the comments about less-than-perfect audio engineering.

Reviewer Nate Dorward has covered it well - all I would add is that another studio anomaly is the 'mysterious missing first line' in "School Days". Seriously though, for some real live fun on some of these same tunes from the same band, Check out the "Live at Newport 1957" recording. It covers a lot of this good territory.

X marks the spot where powerful big-band swing meets soaring bebop. Arguably the best CD I own. Thrilling, swinging, dissonant, layered music gives off the pulse-pounding spontaneity of a live session and the precision of great studio musicians. Listen to a great "Night in Tunisia." "I REmember Clifford." Dizzy's own composition "Tour de Force" alone is worth the price of entry. This performance lifts you out of your chair. It adds twenty years to your life. Charli Persip drums for all time. But to single him out is a disservice to everyone else in the orchestra. 5 Stars. 6 if they were available!

This Gillespie CD is the real deal. Excellent big band jazz that swings to the last drop. Too bad this group broke up. The Wilkins, Jones, Liston arrangements are right up there with the best arrangements offered by Ellington, Basie, Herman, Kenton, et al. There are some audio-tech glitches but so what. Dizzy in the mid-'50s had total command of his horn and of course this is highlighted to the max. This CD is a must for serious jazz collectors, Gillespie fans and big band nut-cases...

Dizzy Gillespie is one of the big, legendary names in jazz, but since he made so many recordings with so many record companies and artists, both in starring and supporting roles, it is really hard to pin down a "definitive" work that is not only entertaining and has mass appeal but that shows Dizzy at his musical peak. And while I have not sampled all that much else by Gillespie, I think I probably found the most appealing bit of his work right here. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition recommends this as a core collection selection, and it's easy to see why. Dizzy and his big band play a wide selection of his original songs and jazz standards, even including some wonderful vocal numbers sung by male soloist Austin Cromer, female soloist (plucked out of the trombone section) Melba Liston, and even a couple with the whole band singing (which is very cool). This 2-CD set has 42 tracks on it, about two hours and forty minutes of swinging, hot, big band jazz music. The liner notes are thick and cover everything from the original album liner notes and covers, to detailed musician and soloists lists, to interviews and back stories. It's almost like a jazz history lesson. The music is really "up" and of course, it swings like you know a Dizzy Gillespie band would swing. The sound and production are great and they even covered the CD's with facsimiles of the original vinyl labels ("long playing microgroove"). Really, there is nothing to dislike about this set. It's some of the best jazz music around in one of the most user friendly, informative packages ever. Buy it with confidence.

One word: MAGNIFICENT !!!

This 2CD represents enormous value in terms
of music (minutes played), and also, in terms
of quality of sound, clarity in the various
instruments, etc.

The big band sound, is slightly reminiscent
of Duke Ellington's Newport, or Thelonious
Monk's Big Band CD (orchestrated by Oliver
Nelson, I believe, called Plays the Blues),
for example.

There's several numbers with vocals accompanying
the music, and they are well thought out and
interesting in their own right, both male
and female voices.

As I said in the title...magnificent.

This double CD contains classic Big-Band music, capped off with outstanding solos. The accuracy of the band in playing tight rhythms resembles the old Glenn Miller bands. Dizzy's solo in Night in Tunisia is breathtaking, including his customary tag near the end. There is also five takes of Left Hand Corner showing that even God's can make mistakes. This collection shows that Dizzy was the true master of be-bop and no-one can take the crown away from him.

The arrangements and the choices of tunes are a little on the square side. I'm sure it would be possible to play material like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as jazz, but that doesn't really happen here -- it just sounds like straight pop to my ear.