Customer Reviews

Jazz Icons: Dizzy Gillespie Live in '58 and '70

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD features two fine European concerts, one from 1958, the other from 1970, both showing Gillespie in fine fettle. The '58 concert features Gillespie and saxophonist Sonny Stitt fronting a small combo, each radiating elegance and cool; the 1970 show has Dizzy doubling as bandleader and soloist, leading a 16-piece big band that slips from complex ensemble arrangements to brash, brassy hard bop and into funk, bluesy grooves, with Gillespie blowing each with equal ease. And he looks hella cool at all times. Great look at this master jazzman, still playing in his prime over a 12-year stretch.

if you dig on dizzy then you will love this dvd. two outstanding performances with outstanding audio and video. really! i dont know if the jazz icon people spent time remastering this footage or if it was really well preserved, but i was very impressed with the audio/video quality. to me its a small miracle that archival type footage such as that released by the jazz icon series is avaiable. they are to be commended. i also purchased art blakey, thelonius monk and buddy rich and although i have not watched the buddy rich dvd yet the blakey and monk dvds are also outstanding in quality and content. more please! each dvd also comes with a really nice booklet about the artist. highly recommended!

The 1958 recording is great; Sonny Stitt is in his prime this year (this is the same year he recorded with Rollins and Gillespie on the classic Sonny Side Up), and he is at his performance peak on this recording. Stitt is really relaxed and articulates unbelievably well. His tenor sound is unique, and he flies through notes with ease on the alto. I think he steals the show.
The 1970 recording features Gillespie with the Kenny Clarke Big Band, and Dizzy is outstanding, spitting out long, exciting runs with ease. You see his sense of humor here also.
Any fan of Stitt or Gillespie (or jazz) will enjoy this DVD - the 1958 footage is classic.

My husband is a musican (saxophonist) and provided his input for this gift I gave him. Incredible music (both audio and video) especially for its age. The techs really knew what they were doing and captured the very essence of the perfomances. Lots of ego in the small group scene. Dizzy was the leader but the other musicans were the real stars. Somewhat disappointing and somewhat distracting to see Dizzy talking during Stitt's wonderful solos but demanding complete attention when he was soloing. Did he actually bump into Stitt at the beginning of Blues Walk? Nevertheless very enjoyable. Some of the best Stitt I've ever heard. Great backing from Loe Levy and Ray Brown. Good work from Gus Johnson when he wasn't being distracted. Recommended.

There's something so mesmerizing about these two performances, that even my three-year-old son is transfixed by them. The first features a quintet of Diz, Sonny Stitt, Lou Levy (piano), Ray Brown (bass) and Gus Johnson (drums) that plays it safe -- Dizzy's standard feature "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and Stitt's standard feature "Lover Man" are both included in the 30-minute set -- but whoever filmed it must have been a real jazz fan. There are long takes of Diz and Sonny's fingering, even views of Diz clearing his valve -- in short, all the physical realities of a jazz performance and all the stuff that is usually cut out of TV performances of jazz artists. It renders what could have been a pedestrian soft-bop set into something special. But in the second half of this disc, things really take off. It's an hour of Dizzy fronting the Clarke-Boland Big Band in 1970, and they are TIGHT. Big brassy, rollicking charts, including Gillespie standbys like "Manteca". And that band: not only is Art Farmer in the trumpet section (looking rather glum since he doesn't get any solos!) but so are Idrees Sulieman and Benny Bailey. And, look over there, it's Sahib Shihab on baritone sax. No wonder this band is often referred to as legendary. Grab this disc, settle in, and relax.....

Dizzy&Sonny Stitt(tenor/alto);All through the set,some of the most articulate solo's I ever heard them play is
right here on this dvd. Rounding out this group are;Lou Levy, Ray Brown,Gus Johnson. They have fun vocalizing on "Sunny side of the street". Other tunes are;"Loverman",featuring;Stitt on alto.,"Blues walk"
+ 2 more.
The next set is with the Kenny clark/Francy Boland big band . "Con alma" Manteca" +4 more tunes
Very exciting stuff! Music,singing and humor! A complete show!!!

The 1958 concert features a band with Sonny Stitt, Ray Brown, Gus Johnson, and Lou Levy. It is a tight group which swings easily and is very familiar with the material. Sonny Stitt is outstanding, in his prime. His alto feature is "Lover Man", an extraordinary display of virtuosity. Levy gets only a few chances to solo but plays quite well. Brown and Johnson deliver solid swing. Diz seems to be having a good time, witty and alert.

The 1970 concert with the Clarke-Boland Big Band is also quite good. But this band is not up to the standards one might hear on other Gillespie led aggregations, particularly the Latin tunes do not compare favorably with other versions on record. It is pretty obvious that Diz is a visiting soloist who is not in charge of the show. Still, he is in good form. Kenny Clarke is upstaged by a second drummer, Kenny Clare, who plays all the fills. Francy Boland contributes some driving piano solos.

In all, this is a quality disk of a jazz immortal in good company, well worth the price.

Dizzy... what can you say? The bigggest treat for me besides the killer big band he leads during the second part of this DVD, is seeing one of my favorite tenors, Sonny Stitt, in action.

Now where's Sonny with Don Patterson and Billy James DVD?! :D

I had viewed this video from our local library, and had to have a copy!
This is one of the best and hardest-swinging combos that I have ever heard, with great playing by Diz and Sonny Stitt, and with Ray Brown and Gus Johnson driving the soloists. I highly recommend this video, and am sure you will really appreciate it.

It is fantastic to spend the evening enjoying this. Dizzy at
his best in live footage.