Product Description

Jazz Icons: Dizzy Gillespie features two historic concerts from one of the founding fathers of bebop. Filmed 12 years apart, the 1958 concert features Dizzy working eloquently within the small combo structure of a quintet including such infl uential musicians as sax player Sonny Stitt and bassist Ray Brown. The second show focuses on a completely different side of Dizzy, fronting the legendary Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. With a 16-piece big band to conduct, including two drummers, his Latin infl uences are revealed on Â"Con AlmaÂ" and Â"Manteca.Â"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20973 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Color, DVD-Video, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com
Two very distinct sides of Dizzy Gillespie are on display in Live in '58 and '70, and it's a measure of the trumpeter's versatility that neither has a whole lot to do with his most famous contribution to the jazz artform--that being his "invention" (with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and others) of bebop. Recorded in Belgium, the '58 gig finds Diz leading a quintet that also includes the redoubtable bassist Ray Brown, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, and pianist Lou Levy. The repertoire is utterly hip, with a swinging version of Benny Golson's "Blues After Dark," Clifford Brown's burning "Blues Walk," the big band standard "Cocktails for Two" (played as a ballad and sounding not a bit like the more familiar Spike Jones arrangement), and the haunting "Lover Man," most closely associated with Billie Holiday (and a feature for Stitt, who spins out the speedy, fluid lines that often resulted in his being labeled a Parker clone); there's also "On the Sunny Side of the Street," in which Gillespie, always an amusing performer, substitutes his own lyrics as he and Stitt share vocal duties ("Life could be so fine/Fine as Manishewitz wine…"). A dozen years later, Dizzy's in Denmark, fronting a big band led by French pianist Francy Boland and drummer Kenny Clarke. Here we get a taste of the Afro-Cuban sounds that Gillespie first explored in the 1940s and '50s, including two of his own compositions, the lovely "Con Alma" and the classic "Manteca"; there's also the deep gospel-soul of bassist Jimmy Woode's "Now Hear My Meanin'" and the absolutely smoking "Things Are Here," performed at a pace that suggests big band bebop. And then there's Diz the emcee; whether thanking the bemused audience for their "profound ebullience" or picking up a noisy infant and gently admonishing him to shut up (a move that would probably earn him a child abuse citation nowadays but causes nary a ripple here), the guy knew he was there to entertain, not just play. Quite simply, there is nothing on this 85-minute disc--and that includes the astonishingly crisp sound a clear visuals, a hallmark of the Jazz Icons series--not to like. --Sam Graham

Jazz Times
"Jazz Icons is doing for jazz what the Criterion Collection has done for classic and important films".

From the Director
JAZZ ICONS(tm) is an ongoing DVD series featuring full-length concerts and in-studio performances by the greatest legends of jazz, filmed all over the world from the 1950s through the 1970s. Beautifully transferred from the riginal masters, none of these concerts has ever been officially released on home video, and in many cases, the material was never broadcast. Each DVD is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates. JAZZ ICONS(tm) comes to you from Reelin' In The Years Productions, GRAMMY Nominated producers of the American Folk Blues Festival DVDs 1962 - 1966.

Customer Reviews

Captures John Birks Gillespie very well
Those of you familiar with the Gillespie Big Band of the forties will want this brilliant black and white film of these two more contemporary concerts of Dizzy, for one track, if not for the rest, THINGS ARE NOW, which is a reworking of THINGS TO COME, side B of the 78, with TWO BASS HIT on Side A. Magic. The Francie Boland/Kenny Clarke Big Band was in top form - Art Farmer was in the trumpet section!!!!! - and Ronnie Scott on tenor, gives one his best solos on film that I can recall seeing/hearing. It swings, it moves, amazing stuff. Thank heaven for state owned television!

CLASSIC JAZZ
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!!!

Classic Diz
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.