From: milliken@scofield.Corp.Sun.COM (Gary Milliken)
Newsgroups: rec.music.bluenote
Subject: Re: Dizzy Gillespie
Date: 7 Jan 93 22:29:46 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: scofield.corp.sun.com

In article <1993Jan7.165955.17808@afit.af.mil> maysee@ss2.sews.wpafb.af.mil writes:
>Jazz listeners,
>
>   I have a fairly large collection of Miles CD's and a few Coltrane 
>CD's and a couple of Parker CD's, but I have no Dizzy Gillespie CD's.
>Can someone point me to a few essential CD's by Dizzy?
>    

  There is a discography of "Dizzy Discs" in the November issue of JAZZIZ,
compiled by Scott Yanow.  Hmm, I guess the least I could do in Diz's memory
is to type it out for the net.....

  Before I get to it, I'll mention that I have a 2-LP vinyl album named
"In the Beginning" (Prestige P-24030) that I consider the best definitive
Dizzy collection I've yet seen.  I have been searching for this stuff on
CD for years.  I think I saw some of it on a Savoy CD long ago, but the
inflated price made me pass on it -- if I'd realized that I would NEVER
see it again, I would have grabbed it.
  The album contains:  "Blue 'n' Boogie" (1945) with Dexter Gordon;
                       "Groovin' High", "Salt Peanuts", "Shaw Nuff",
                         "Hot House", and others (1945) with Parker;
                       "One Bass Hit", "Oop Bop Sh'Bam", and others (1946)
                          with Sonny Stitt and Milt Jackson;
                       "Things to Come" (1946) with his big band;
                       "Ray's Idea" (1946) with John Lewis and Jackson;
                       and various other stuff through 1950.

  Maybe some of these are on the Musicraft CD listed below, but I've never
seen it in stores.  :-(

  Here's the JAZZIZ article.   RIP, Diz.
-------------------------

"The Development of an American Artist 1940-46" (Smithsonian)
   Unlike many of the other innovators such as Charlie Parker, Ornette
   Coleman, and Cecil Taylor, it is possible to trace Dizzy Gillespie's
   musical evolution on record from emulator (chiefly of Roy Eldridge) to
   innovator.  Available as a 2-LP set (but not out on CD yet), this
   package features a few of Diz's early sides with Cab Calloway's
   orchestra and other swing bands, excerpts from Minton's Playhouse,
   contributions to the first bop session (in 1944 with Coleman Hawkins),
   and glimpses of the rapidly emerging Gillespie.

"Shaw 'Nuff" (Musicraft)
   Even 45 years later, Dizzy's solos on these groundbreaking recordings
   with Charlie Parker and his own big band (check out "Things to Come")
   still sound radical.  No wonder Glenn Miller fans were shocked by bop!

"Dizziest" (Bluebird) and "The Bebop Revolution" (Bluebird)
   During 1946-49 Gillespie led one of the most exciting of all orchestras,
   really shaking up the jazz world.  While "Dizziest" covers much of that
   legacy, "The Bebop Revolution" also has samples from other groups of
   the era; Dizzy still sounds ten years ahead of everyone else.

"Dee Gee Days" (Savoy)
   The CD covering 1951-52 finds Dizzy effectively coping with the breakup
   of his big band and serving up novelty vocals along with his distinctive
   trumpet.

"Jazz at Massey Hall" (OJC)
   Bird and Diz together one last time at an exciting 1953 Canadian concert
   along with Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach.

"Duets" (Verve)
   Dizzy meets a pair of Sonnys (Rollins and Stitt) on some truly inspired
   jam sessions including "The Eternal Triangle" and a stunning "I Know That
   You Know."

"Dizzy's Diamonds" (Verve)
   During the 1950s and much of the '60s, Gillespie worked most notably with
   Verve.  This recent three-CD sampler includes selections by his 1956-57
   orchestra, small group meetings with a wide variety of all-stars, and a
   full disc devoted to Dizzy's fusion of bop with Latin rhythms.  This is
   perfect as an introduction to Gillespie's music.

"Dizzy's Big Four" (OJC)
   Fast forwarding to the 1970s, Dizzy is in excellent late form on this
   quartet date with Joe Pass.

"To a Finland Station" (Pablo)
   Gillespie helped introduce the great Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval to
   the Western world on this exciting two-trumpet quintet session from 1982.

"Live at the Royal Festival Hall" (Enja)
   Few of Dizzy's more recent recordings may be historically important, but
   the presence of Sandoval and Claudio Roditi, not to mention the all-star
   ensemble, makes this 1989 concert well worth acquiring.