Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945

Dizzy Gillespie

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2005)
• Original Release Date: June 21, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Uptown Jazz
• ASIN: B0009Q0EQ0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,689 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker first became aware of each other in 1940 when the former was playing in Cab Calloway's band and the latter with Jay McShann. Two years later they were both living in New York City and a real friendship developed. By 1945 they were recording and gigging together, culminating in this Town Hall concert on June 22, 1945. These recordings languished for sixty years as acetates that weren't even known to exist in their entirety. That this set captures these two formidable players in their ascendancy and with such clarity is a staggering find. Here, with host Symphony Sid announcing the songs (this would have been for his radio show, but apparently never ended up in his possessions), an important chapter in American music is now restored. By the end of the summer of '45 Gillespie and Parker went their separate ways, both emerging with their own bands and reaching new heights of commercial success. --David Greenberger

Fred Kaplan, The New York Times July 31, 2005

It's an unlikely story, but the most stunning jazz discovery in a decade - the Rosetta Stone of bebop - was unearthed at an Elks Lodge in Chelmsford, Mass. The trove consisted of seven 12-inch acetate discs, on which was recorded a 40-minute concert by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker at Town Hall in New York on June 22, 1945.

That date is significant. The two musicians - Diz and Bird, as the world would soon know them - were still fairly obscure. (Most of the audience had probably come to hear other musicians on the bill, especially the tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who didn't show up.) The first Gillespie-Parker record had been in stores for only a few weeks. The second, produced on May 11, hadn't yet been released.

In short, these discs vividly transport us to the birth of modern jazz.

In those days of the 78 r.p.m. single, studio sessions were limited to about three minutes per song, solos to 15 or 20 seconds. At the Town Hall concert, the musicians were free to play the tunes - "Bebop," "Groovin' High," "Hot House," "A Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts," all jazz anthems by the end of that year but at the time still unknown - for twice as long, and at a furious tempo. Solos went on for two minutes or more, and they're blazing - Diz scaling heights on trumpet, Bird hitting speeds on alto sax, that no one had heard before. The studio recordings, great as they are, sound mellow, even quaint, by comparison.

Now, 60 years after the concert, the small jazz label Uptown Records has sonically restored the acetates and transferred them to a CD titled simply "Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Discovery of the Century (So Far)!!!!!!!!, July 12, 2005

By	soundandimage (omaha, ne United States) - See all my reviews

It's hard to believe the good fortune we have of being able to listen to this surprisingly well-recorded, previously lost Town Hall concert concert from June 22, 1945. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Al Haig, Curley Russell, Max Roach & Big Sid Catlett are presented here just months after the first Bop records were recorded in a blistering concert MC'd by the redoubtable Symphony Sid Torin. This is Bop at it's inception, played in the heat of enthusiasm and discovery. Diz is a marvel on every cut, Bird plays as if his very life depended on it, Al Haig is allowed to stretch out as he never was on the original records and the rhythm section of Russell & Roach were creating the sound of the future. Special guests Byas & Big Sid are an added treat. The breaks & solos on "Night In Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts" have lost none of their ability to scare the living s**t out of musicians to this very day. If you have ANY interest in these artists and this music, DO NOT delay and buy this release as soon as you possibly can. Can I give Uptown Records & this CD twenty stars?!?!?!?!?

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding Discovery, June 21, 2005

By	K. Hooker "kh1958" (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This previously unknown concert recording from 1945 of one of the greatest groups in jazz history, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet with Charlie Parker, exceeds the listener's lofty expectations. First, the quality of the music is at the highest level of inspiration, with the innovations of Parker and Gillespie still fresh, new and exciting. Parker and Gillespie are both in astounding form. Second, the quality of the recording is very good--this is easily one of the best recorded live concerts of this era. Third, this release is from Uptown Records, and hence is meticulously prepared and researched. In short, this is an essential jazz recording and one of the great music discoveries of the last fifty years.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another "Dead Sea Scrolls" musical discovery!! Absolutely the best Bebop!, October 8, 2005

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker hooked up in late June of 1945 for this knock-out concert at Town Hall, New York City, maybe for a post-VE Day celebration! With a history somewhat reminiscent of another newly released CD, "Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane," these recordings, as acetates, were buried somewhere for sixty years and no one knew they existed in their entirety. Thus, this is the first time the concert has ever been released. Sixty years in the "lost and found!!" Makes one wonder what other treasures are buried out there! I recently read a comment that, "...the discovery of this recording is a Dead Sea Scrolls kind of event." For jazz/bebop lovers, it is so true!

Unlike the Monk/Coltrane find, the quality of this recording is uneven, but the quality of the music is simply superb! The brilliance of young jazz greats Parker's and Gillespie's music shines through. At a time when jazz meant big band sound to most folks, Dizzy and Bird were discovering bebop, and coming out with classics like "A Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts" for the first time. The quintet's rhythm section, with great bop bassist Curley Russell, percussionist Max Roach and pianist Al Haig, is outstanding! Billed as Gillespie's Quintet, and playing mostly Dizzy's tunes, underrated tenor sax player Don Byas stands in for Bird until the tardy Parker shows for his gig. Big Sid Catlett makes a brief appearance for his solo on "Hothouse." And, as a campy side event, there is commentary by "Symphony" Sid Torin, a famous New York City disc jockey who covered the jazz scene, and introduces, announces and occasionally banters with the musicians and audience.

Dizzy often said, when speaking of his musical collaboration with Parker, that Bird was "the other half of my heartbeat." The famous quote was actually prefaced by the following: "He had just what we needed. He had the line and he had the rhythm. The way he got from one note to the other and the way he played the rhythm fit what we were trying to do perfectly." It is amazingly clear, on this recording, how in sync these two musicians were and are. Their exquisite timing, their humor, their talent and virtuosity - unbelievable!! Gillespie's solo on "Groovin' High" is sublime as is Bird's transition into it.

"Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945" is a remarkable find, a CD for every jazz lovers' collection. To be able to listen to this album and the "Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane" CD, (both lost for decades and just released, within a 3 month period of each other), is an amazing gift. The only downside is that the Dizzy/Bird recording is a mere 40 minutes long...but you can play it over and over!

This Uptown Jazz Records presentation includes a 30 page booklet with notes by Ira Gitler, describing how the priceless acetate discs were discovered and turned into this compact disc project. Photos are from the Frank Driggs Collection and reprints of concert reviews from the NYC press. Also included are some technical notes by Ted Kendall, who is responsible for this remastering.
JANA