Giants of Jazz

Dizzy Gillespie (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 28, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Collectables
• ASIN: B000DZIGGW
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,757 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Tin Tin Deo

2. Night in Tunisia

3. Woody 'N' You

4. Tour de Force

Disc: 2

1. Allen's Alley (Be Bop Tune)

2. Blue 'N' Boogie

3. Everthing Happens to Me

4. Dizzy's Rap

5. Blue Monk

6. 'Round Midnight

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GIANT MONSTERS AT PLAY, June 21, 2006

By 

George H. Soule (Edwardsville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giants of Jazz (Audio CD)

One of the mysteries of modern civilization and the jazz music industry is why these discs have been out of print. Lack of focus, we might surmise. Or Gresham's Law applied to jazz trumpet players. Not to pursue: in the jazz world hype happens and genius gets shelved or ignored during the flash of the meteor of the year. The line up is John Birks Gillespie on trumpet, Sonny Stitt on alto saxophone, Kai Winding on trombone, Thelonious Monk playing piano. Art Blakey is the drummer joined by Al McKibbon on bass. 1961, Victoria Theatre, London. Gillespie is in top form, playing to please, if you please. Stitt is blazing. Monk is . . . simply brilliant in ensemble and solo. All of the players have space. They are relaxed and obviously enjoying the night and one another. These are masters at work. Dizzy's treatment of "Tin Tin Deo" on this night was among his best. Blakey is featured as the drummer of "Night in Tunisia." Monk does "Blue Monk" and "'Round Midnight." Stitt blazes with special intensity in "Everything Happens to Me," and Dizzy notices what is happening. I am not sure that this record can be rated, but if you value jazz at all, you need to own it before it goes out of print.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Diz is blown away by Sonny Stitt (and says so), November 7, 2010

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giants of Jazz (Audio CD)

When George Wein managed to assemble this musical "dream team" in 1972, it received little publicity. After all, Jazz at the Philharmonic was long gone and Wein's Newport Jazz Festival had practically been brought to a halt by destructive young vandals at its original site in Rhode Island. The American public's ears were increasingly attuned to, on the one hand, rock, and, for those a bit older, country and western music. And the few remaining jazz fans were following Miles and "B***s Brew" into fusion territory. As a result, the bona fide giants of the music, the masters who had been responsible for the bebop revolution of the late '40s, were struggling for audiences and recording contracts. Even Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers ("No fusion for us," Art said. "Jazz is acoustic, and traditional or modern, we're all about mainstream swing.") As a result, all of Art's '70s recordings were made outside the U.S. and few of them were digitalized and released on disc. (The DVD "Art Blakey and Jazz Messengers" at Umbria, Italy, with David Schnitter and Bill Hardman, is one notable exception--consisting of a priceless program of Walter Davis, Jr. compositions.)

To his credit, Wein sensed an opportunity to pry these American masters away from their respective groups and individual commitments and, for at least two years, had them touring before ecstatic, receptive audiences throughout the world (with the exception of their native U.S.). Since then, the recording that documents the music by this "A Team"--consisting of two discs from one of their concerts in London--has been in and out (mostly out) of print, and any listener wanting to hear any of these masters--perhaps the last time any of them was in peak form--would be well advised to pick up this session right now (there's certainly no guarantee it will ever be reissued).

It's a program that starts solidly but not exceptionally. Diz launches proceedings with an extended, well-played trumpet solo, fully worthy of his reputation as one of the best trumpet players (along with Louis and Clifford) of all time. Then it's Blakey's turn--and the force of nature delivers. Finally we become aware of the presence of Sonny Stitt, who sticks primarily to alto saxophone on this date (despite his spectacular tenor duels with Getz and Rollins, I've always considered alto his most creative horn).

But it's not until the 2nd disc and bottom half of the program that the music really heats up. Certainly the highlight is Sonny Stitt's solo on "Everything Happens to Me." After collecting a hundred albums under Stitt's name, I can state with absolute assurance that he's never sounded better, more inspired, more untouchable (even by Bird himself). Sonny could go through periods during which he sounded almost formulaic, repeating himself and having an overly strong attraction to the tonic note. But on this occasion, he submits a solo that is as good as it gets. The saxophone could not--perhaps HAS not--ever been played better.

After Stitt's performance, Diz himself seems taken back, as though he had never heard such playing not only from Sonny but from Bird (his one-time frontline partner) or anyone else. Uncharacteristically, he heaps praise (in Diz fashion) on Sonny, before announcing the concert's two closing numbers, both featuring Thelonious Monk: "Blue Monk" followed by "Round Midnight." It's one of the last times that Monk sounded like Monk. A couple of years later he would sound like a "conventional" bebop pianist, and shortly thereafter he would be too chronically ill to play or even show up for a gig.

So these are giants in a land of giants--before they became extinct. The entire concert is a joy from start to finish, almost a painful reminder of the beauty we once took for granted.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diz, Monk, Blakey, Stitt - how can you go wrong?, November 16, 2009

By 

J. Palmer "jeffron-x" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giants of Jazz (Audio CD)

This album was recorded in 1971, compiled from two concerts given on the same day in November in London. It's near the end of Monk's recording career, and as a Monk fan, a must listen.

The first disc is four tracks. 'Tin Tin Deo' has only a very short Monk solo ~6 min. in, but Gillespie is all over it and man, can he blow the horn. 'Night in Tunisia' is a low point, it seemed pretty tame to me. 'Woody N' You' features more great work from Diz and Monk has a very high solo at the end, it almost sounds like a xylophone. 'Tour De Force' is the best track on the disc and features some great piano work from Monk, he really gets into it.

The second disc is six tracks. There's a big band sound to 'Allen's Alley', with Diz blowing away and Blakey has a wicked drum solo at the end. Monk's got a nice solo on 'Blue N' Boogie', a track that really bops!

'Everything Happens To Me' I thought was the best track on the album, Stitt and Monk play off each other just perfectly. There's a short track called Diz's rap, where he teases the British audience a bit, pretending to be West Indian. There's a strong version of 'Blue Monk', and lots of Monk on a sweet version of 'Round Midnight'. It's great and a little sad to hear the last concerts of Monk, but this is a pretty special live album.

Besides the weak 'Night in Tunisia', the only other reason I can't give this five stars is the recording fidelity, which I thought was low on the piano mic, but then that's what I was listening for, so for others that might not be important. Also, since the tracks are taken from two sessions, there's a feeling of it being pieced together as an album, rather than one concert.