Dizzy! Dizzy! Dizzzzy!!! What a magnificent sound, one of the most tastefully apt nicknames for a dweller of the Jazz Pantheon. Because it’s important to know, or to remember: with John Birks Dizzy Gillespie, we’re dealing with truly royal Jazz blood. Remembering the trumpeter, when we’ve had the luck to hear him – regularly – to see him – often – to meet and interact with him – all too rarely – every time elicits joy with a capitol “J”. Because, for the man who said of Louis Armstrong, “Without you, no me”, scores of elegant followers have probably felt or uttered the same laudatory and grateful phrase.

And then... dig into your memory or search the web and type in “Dizzy... Jazz”, and you’ll find a gallery of photos all exhibiting the most visible of exceptional generosities. As if the happiness and pleasure Diz felt at being the musical genius he was, he felt naturally compelled to radiate in every shot, managing to bring out mischief, humor, sharing, and infectious good humor. And if in a number of these photographic testimonies, Dizzy does Dizzy and passes himself off as a sort of irresistible clown-entertainer, we must realize that his music was also irresistible and that in all circumstances, it remained undeniably of a supernatural quality.

In fact, orchestral ensembles that pay homage to a musician posthumously or that strive to extend their ideas and message, are few and far between! And among this exceptional cast, it’s no surprise to find poetic heavyweights like Duke, Basie, Gil Evans, Mingus, and... Dizzy Gillespie!
For our hero trumpeter, there’s no need to hesitate. The big band was the base for him, and before leading his own group of marvelously maniacal virtuosos from 1945 onward, he had already been sparkling his pistons in many of the best swing machines of the day for a decade. Starting with Frank Fairfax in 1935, then Edgar Hayes and Teddy Hill (with whom he recorded King Porter’s Stomp, featuring his very first trumpet solo); it was the start of his young glory with Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald and the musicians of Chick Webb, Earl Hines, Billy Eckstine, etc… He did this while starting to deliver in parallel arrangements for groups as famous as those of Woody Herman or Jimmy Dorsey. Simultaneously Dizzy then became, in the company of his alter ego Charlie Parker, the other bridgehead of the fever that was Be Bop, riding roughshod over everything in his path in the company of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Miles Davis and all those who knew how to jump on the bandwagon of these two geniuses who revolutionized music in the mid-40s.

Dizzy’s big band immediately became one of the most en vogue orchestras of the day, beyond that it would become, from 1947-1948, the crucible of Afro-Cuban Jazz that the trumpeter, transmitting passion and fire, had practically invented in the company of Mario Bauza, Chano Pozo or Sabu Martinez. In fact, from that moment on, our man would never stop seeking encounters to break down all the stylistic and political barriers possible. He would be the first to offer a chance to the very young Argentinean pianist-composer Lalo Schifrin at the very end of the ‘50s, then founded the United Nations Orchestra in which he would welcome some of his great Cuban friends, such as Arturo Sandoval or Paquito D’Rivera, extending a musical hand in order to allow them to start a new life after fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro.

The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band is thus here for us – to refresh our memories and remind us that this music hasn’t aged a bit, paying homage to Dizzy’s incomparable aura. This 2007 ensemble, energized by bassist and musical director John Lee (a former partner and lynchpin behind the band), stopped at Geneva’s Victoria-Hall for a concert that you can now experience – or relive for the first time – on record. The lineup includes former partners of the trumpeter, such as trombonist and conductor Slide Hampton, Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, and of course the legendary saxophonist James Moody, who joined Dizzy’s big band on alto in… 1946! However the majority of the sections are overflowing with young talents who were already at the top of the Jazz scene at the time of this recording. A list particularly impressive with rhythm and three horn sections experienced with all the flamboyancy demanded by a repertoire built as much on memorable compositions, that are identified with the inspiration of this project – such as Con Alma, Manteca, Blue’n Boogie and Things to Come. These are titles, inevitably associated with Be Bop as well as Hot House (grafted by Tadd Dameron on the chords of What Is This Thing Called Love) or Round Midnight. Finally, the three remaining arrangements (which are all fraternal tributes to Dizzy) are Dizzy’s Business by Ernie Wilkins and two gems by the “little giant” Jimmy Heath (who joined Diz’s orchestra in… 1949 and often returned to the All-Star Big Band in the 2000s!): Without You No Me, a title that should remind you of something and that Jimmy had affectionately diverted in the direction of his mentor and buddy; and finally Moody’s Groove, which Jimmy had written on the occasion of his friend James’ eightieth birthday in 2005.

A single last word of advice: let yourself be carried away by the flame of each solo from this glorious team of committed Gillespians, as they embark on a uplifting program of exhilarating Swing! You’ll experience a truly special moment, served up with passion, seriousness AND humor – three words that pretty much sum up the man we also called... The Champ!

Yvan Ischer
RTS Producer – Radio Télévision Suisse
Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series Consultant