Customer Reviews

Dizzy Gillespie - Live at the Royal Festival Hall, London

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

 

 

If you want to enjoy a Diz on film go right for Dizzy's Dream Band, or try to run down a great tape made of one of his Cuban tours. This one, a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall in 1989 is, well, not Dizzy at his best. Sure, some fine solos (though James Moody and Slide Hampton a bit wasted here -- just not enough of them) by several Latin American stars. But Dizzy himself seems tired and uninspired, and the orchestra never quite reaches the energy and excitement one espect's of Dizzy's ensembles. This all said, the sound quality is fine, as is the video.

This concert was clearly a showcase for some superb musicians, notably, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera, Airto Moreira, Giovanni Hidalgo, Steve Turre and Dizzy himself, amongst others.

The video is sometimes a little confused but the sound is as good as being there and the music itself is classic, with some memorable solos to be heard.

Whether you're a fan of Dizzy's or Latin jazz in general, there is much to enjoy.

This might not be Mr. Gillespie at his best, but it is Dizzy, and it is jazz. (And) Dizzy playing jazz (even if it is not one of his better performances) is better than most at their absolute best. Touring is takes a lot out of musicians. Even when you are not performing you still don't get any rest. You have signings and rehearsals you have to attend. At any rate this DVD is great to have because there are some great solos by the other artist performing. Although I feel as if some of them were under used. You will not be disappointed with any aspect of the performances on this DVD.

Great work from all in the band. Incredible percussion. Arturo is at his best in the presence of his hero.

Great DVD !!! Arturo Sandoval and Paquito De Rivera added great interpretation. Airto with a great solo. Overall DVD with great music extremetly talented group of musicians. Great memory of Dizzy the master.

Most people coming to this will be aware that Dizzy was nearing the end of his life and sounding it - his tone and his flow of ideas are a pale shadow of their former self. Fortunately he's not the focus of attention here, a master of ceremonies rather than the dominant soloist of his 1940s big band recordings.
Slide Hampton's arrangements are basic, functioning a pleasant framework for a terrific set of solos - most of the highlights come from the unrelated Rivieras, James Moody and Steve Turre and (of course) Sandoval, then at the height of his virtuosity and showmanship. Moody also sings King Pleasure's version of his `Moody's Mood For Love'. Dizzy's most appealing spots are his duet with Sandoval on `And Then She Stopped' and `Kush' (also notable for James Moody's intro).
Those who remember the vinyl release of the companion album will be relieved to hear that both of Flora Purim's vocals are intact (and, despite a programming error, Esquinas is not abbreviated). But there is a serious problem with this film, still unresolved...
The original TV broadcast from this concert began with a very fine version of Manteca, lasting around 10 minutes. It was omitted from the video - and it's not included here either! All we get is the intro in the opening titles, and the closing guitar/conga break in the closing titles!
Message to all DVD production companies: you should know that if you do not take the time and trouble to restore glaring edits in music films, and at other times generally make every logical effort to utilize the DVD format's storage capacity - you will be regarded as rip-off-merchants, fraudsters. And what's more, wasters of plastic and electricity.

Dizzy displays his talents here. Though he is older, the music still sounds fresh. Gillespie is accompanied by an allstar band of international musicians. This is a must see.

Dizzy showed his magical foresight, grouping upcoming Latin Jazz players, now regarded the best in Latin Jazz. The versality of solos by Paquito D'Rivera, Giovanny Hidalgo and Arturo Sandoval makes this concert one of my most treasured Jazz collections.

Flora Purim an Afro-Cuban queen? Really? Seems like someone at Amazon editorial is either not really into the music or simply not good at fact-checking. Flora was born in Rio de Janeiro and is best known for Brazilian tinged fusion work.