Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dizzy Gillespie: Showtime at The Spotlite

491

Dizzy Gillespie: Showtime at The Spotlite

By

View read count
Dizzy Gillespie: Showtime at The Spotlite
Clark Monroe's Uptown House in Harlem was an incubator of bebop, so it wasn't a surprise that Monroe gave Dizzy Gillespie a venue for reviving his big band at the short-lived (1944 to early 1947) 52nd Street club, The Spotlite, in 1946. Two CDs capture two sets toward the end of that historic engagement in June, as recorded by Jerry Newman, the same intrepid fan who recorded gestational bebop after-hours jams at Uptown House and Minton's Playhouse in Harlem earlier in the '40s with Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Charlie Christian. Considering the low-fi disc recorder source, the sound is pretty good, even if it's necessary to strain occasionally to hear solos. It's worth it for the historical importance of these recordings, a fascinating snapshot of bebop's premier big band under full steam at a club.

The definite stars are the trumpet playing of Gillespie, a marvel of technique and imagination, and the big band charts of Tadd Dameron, Gillespie and the main arranger, Gil Fuller, who brought the bebop idiom to an orchestral forum. Fuller was just a part of the strong Newark, NJ presence in this band, which also included tenor saxophonist James Moody (the main sax soloist here) and trumpeter Dave Burns. Also present, but not on the commercial recordings the band made for RCA Victor, is pianist Thelonious Monk, whose "'Round Midnight," in the seminal chart by Fuller, intro and coda by Gillespie, showcases Milt Jackson's vibes.

Many of the conventions of Swing Era arranging still held sway in 1946, most notably the idea that the band should interact with and support soloists, as typified by Fuller's concerto-like setting for Ray Brown on "One Bass Hit." "Things to Come," the quicksilver anthem, is heard three times, seemingly faster and more furious each go-around. Disc Two exudes a particularly festive atmosphere—a Moody solo eliciting hearty laughs; Dizzy even more mercurial—with Sarah Vaughan doing an intermission song and Duke Ellington acknowledged by Diz.

Track Listing

CD1: Shaw 'Nuff/I Waited For You; Our Delight; Groovin' High; The Man i Love; Ray's Idea; Cool Breeze; Oo Bop Sh'Bam; 'Round Midnight; Second Balcony Jump; Day By Day; Convulsions; Woody 'n You; Lazy Mood; One Bass Hit; Things To Come; I Waited For You. CD2: Shaw 'Nuff/I Waited For you; Our Delight; Second Balcony Jump; Things To Come; The Man I Love; Don't Blame Me; Grosvenor Square; One Bass Hit; Things To Come; I Waited For You.

Personnel

Dizzy Gillespie: trumpet; Dave Burns: trumpet; Elmon Wright: trumpet; Johnny Lynch: trumpet; Talib Dawud: trumpet; Alton "Slim" Moore: trombone; Leon Comegys: trombone; Gordon Thomas: trombone; Howard Johnson: alto saxophone; John Brown: alto saxophone; James Moody: tenor saxophone; Ray Abrams: tenor saxophone; Sol Moore: baritone saxophone; Thelonious Monk: piano; Milt Jackson: vibes; Ray Brown: bass; Kenny Clarke: drums.

Album information

Title: Showtime at The Spotlite | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Uptown Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.