Customer Reviews

For Musicians Only

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The story behind this from my Dad's (Stan Levey) point of view is that everything was done in one take no 2nd takes no over dubbing. He had spent the whole day recording for TV, Mission Imposible Mannix etc. so he thought a date with Stan Getz this should be pretty laid back.

Well nothing could be further from the truth he said "The count offs were breath taking but once they got thru BeBop everything settled down" his favorite was Wee Allen's Alley. It was virtually a live real Bebop session, nothing worked out, just play by the seat of your pants or get off the bandstand. Like it or not that was the way it was with Bird and those cats, the real thing no pretense.

Bob Levey

I love, love, love this album. You can feel an incredible energy coming out of this record. Bebop was a serious music business in those days. If you were a jazz musician then you should be able to play with these monsters at the breakneck speed presented here. And I think it could sounded scaring ... Today you can't find in a thousands jazz records the same energy, the same stunning musicianship you can find here in this 58 date. Previous reviewers stated some very true things about this album. Among them the fact that at that time computer didn't exist. This is what happened in the studio, first take. No overdubs, no clearings in the mix. This is it. They play at this level. They practiced incredibly hard to gain this level and we should be grateful they did because listening to them is an unbelievable music experience.
Second that the John Lewis rhythmn section is almost a neutral ground on which the soloists can be the most clearly visible. The combo did a stellar job in my opinion as a constant coherent base for the soloists and Stan Levey played here as one of the greatest drummers in Jazz. The three soloists are at the top of their game and I can't understand why some people tend to forget that Getz is another unbelievable technician. Maybe these guys have never had the opportunity to listen to "At storyville". Getz was not a "light feather" or a delicate player (not ONLY I mean...). He was a monster musician just as Stitt or Diz himself. Probably Diz here is the greatest, but it's not an easy task chosing who gave his very best among those three here. (.... personally I'm completly in love with Diz sense of drama and irony, he was, UNBELIEVABLE!!). Among the tunes I choose Bebop and Wee as the best here. Maybe Bebop first. It really is a perfect statement of what the new music was about. Try to imagine that prior to bebop, Jazz was that thing used as ballroom music. Music to shake bottoms! Here we are in front of pure intellectualism and musical refinement of the highest grade. The difference at that time surely scared more than one jazz aficionado. The sonic magma you are about to experience is something that can change your idea about jazz forever. Jazz unaware people generally tend to associate jazz with brushes and romantic ballads with singers. Give'em this fist in their faces and let 'em understand how serious, stellar and challenging Jazz can be. Listening to this album is always an incredible pleasure and it is one of the albums I bought first when I began to go deep into Jazz more than 20 years ago. This album should be entitled "For hipsters" or "For serious jazz listeners only" not for moldy figs. It's absolutly a masterpiece of the music of the past century. Period.

Although I was aware from the beginning of Diz' duets with Rollins and Stitt ("Sonny Side Up"), this one passed below my radar screen until now--perhaps because my jazz peers in college were so dismissive of the music of white and/or West Coast musicians such as Getz, who is featured here along with Diz and Stitt. In any case, "For Musicians Only" is consummate playing, right up there with Bird's best as belonging in a time capsule for future generations to discover and marvel at.

Admittedly, the music on this recording isn't especially accessible. But like James Joyce's "Ulysses" it's representative of the "language" of jazz at its most sophisticated and complex. What counts on these performances excuted at headspinning speed (this CD must contain the largest quantity of "beats" on record) is the crispness of execution, the boldness of conception, the exhilaration of pyrotechnics.

The recording also clarifies for me the dividing line between the original bebop conception of Diz and Bird and the later "hard bop" reduction of it, or between an "open" approach toward creation vs. the "Blue Note style" that began to define so much jazz in the late '50's and beyond. The John Lewis-led rhythm section, even with the presence of Ray Brown, is no heating plant but an unobtrusive, practically transparent, canvas for the gladiators to do their work on. All three are at the top of their respective games. Stitt sticks to alto, content to reflect Bird's legacy rather than take on Getz (though to my ears neither saxophonist quite matches Diz).

I can't help but notice the integrated racial make-up of the group (4-3) at a time when color lines were still quite conspicuous in the music. All the more reason to regard the session as of historic and musical importance--perhaps not merely a mid-century representation of the potential of the music but a high-water mark as well.

An incredible album from start to finish. This one shouldn't fall on deaf ears - either you get it or you don't. Not a typical blowing session by any stretch of one's imagination. This is a level that is rarely reached in a studio or anywhere else. There are tempos here that few musicians today would even attempt,let alone play while ripping off cohesive ideas that are this astonishing. Nothing else can be said about the musicians here; they are collectively on thousands of jazz recordings and among the best in all of jazz. GETZ'S solo on the original "Dark Eyes" ranks near the top of any tenor solo I've ever heard. And DIZZY'S second break on "BE-BOP" is a breath taking lesson in jazz trumpet. Too bad they couldn't have included "TUNISIA" and "CARAVAN" this October day back in 1956 to make this about 60 blistering minutes on one CD.

This is a great record and a rare meeting of all of these principal players. Masterful playing all around. This was an era when musicians really had to be musicians. No Pro-Tools, no Auto-Tune software plug-ins, no "we'll fix it in the mix". Just play it live to tape and it better be good enough, or get out. These cats studied long and hard to be able to play fluently and be creative at the extreme fast tempos exhibited here. Jazz is a music of truth, and in the bebop era, the wanne-bees and charlatans were quickly exposed and run out of town. Stan Getz especially shines here as he totally keeps up with Stitt and Dizzy. Real jazz isn't for everyone. The reviewer who gave this one star should take a jazz appreciation class at school, or just stick to Kenny G.

I have not heard all of this CD, because it is unavailable. What I did hear, courtesy of my friend Chris Levey, whose father Stan is the drummer on this recording, is "Dark Eyes".
I think this is one of the most haunting, beautiful jazz recordings I have ever heard. It is mesmerizing. It contains numerous mistakes, areas where they don't play through the changes properly, even a little "dead air" where you have the feeling everyone's looking around trying to figure out who solos next. None of that matters. It is authentic, exciting, HOT cool jazz at its' best- the real thing, warts and all.
It is worth recalling that at the time they made this record, playing hard and complex and pushing the bop envelope was what jazz was about. Much of what was recorded at that time is self-conscious, arrogant and boring. This is not. These guys were natural improvisers of the highest level, and what they played, they played well. Moreover, they were not afraid to push themselves and each other to greater efforts.
To a modern audience, accustomed to ProTools, punches, etc; this sounds raw and unrefined. That is exactly the charm of it; a great group of jazz musicians blowing their hearts out on a great tune. And if you haven't heard Stan Levey, boy, are you in for a treat.

I don't understand what the griping is about. These days I would be happy to come across a quintet with one-fifth the firepower of these guys. To listen to them just play live in the studio and knock the tunes out is simply mind-blowing. It's a clear case of talent over technology. Modern musicians have so many tools to clean up and edit after the fact - they can even make recordings without ever meeting - just slap the tracks together. But it seems a vital energy and sense of the moment is lost in this manner, which really is a shame. Stan Getz is the big surprise here. After listening to all that bossa nova stuff - Who knew? Even if you have only a passing interest in jazz - this is a great disc to own. It really is the pulse of what was happening at that moment in time, and not just For Musicians Only.

This is a rare recording with Dizzy, Sonny Stitt, and Stan Getz. It's an opportunity to hear the harmonic and rhythmic concept of the two tenor players side by side. The version of Bebop is not to be missed. At over 300 beats per minute, it is a self-contained lesson on what bebop was all about.

I love this album. The recording quality is awesome. Perhaps the remastering might have something to do with it.
This is of course a cutting contest and Stan's playing is so fluid, I think it overshadows Sonny and Dizzy.
But they all sound great.
Herb Ellis's guitar comping is amazing.

Great session but spoiled by Herb Ellis playing rhythm guitar too often.
Uncommon and not very hip for bebop and too restrictive for the soloist.