Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945
| Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 | ||||
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| Live album by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Uptown Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
7th |
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running time |
40:41 |
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| occupation |
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Robert E. Sunenblick |
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Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 is a jazz album released on Uptown Records on June 21, 2005 . It contains a recording of a concert on June 21, 1945 in New York's Town Hall , at which Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker performed. Its historical significance is that it is the only longer live recording of the two protagonists of bebop in its early phase.
background
On June 22, 1945, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker were invited to a Friday evening concert in New York City Hall , just weeks after they had made "a number of the most important studio recordings in jazz history " (Will Layman). The concert was hosted by the radio personality Symphony Sid (who had incorporated modern jazz into his show). The concerts played were “the classic bop hymns” of the time, “Bebop”, “ A Night in Tunisia ”, “Groovin 'High”, “ Salt Peanuts ” and “ Hot House ”.
At the beginning of the recording, the voice of Symphony Sid can be heard introducing the band - referred to as Gillespie's quintet (and mainly playing Gillespie's pieces) or possibly his sextet since tenor Don Byas is on hand but Charlie Parker has not yet appeared is.
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Track list
- Dizzy Gillespie - Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (Uptown Records UPCD 27:51)
- Intro 1:20
- Bebop (Dizzy Gillespie) 7:03
- A Night In Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli) 7:23
- Groovin 'High (Dizzy Gillespie) 6:54
- Salt Peanuts (Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke ) 7:02
- Hot House ( Tadd Dameron ) 6:38
- Fifty Second Street Theme ( Thelonious Monk ) 2:14
reception
The New Yorker included the album in their list of One Hundred Best Jazz Albums;
Will Layman (Pop Matters) praised that the long-lost recording of 1945 showed Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach "in the frenzy of their youthful inventiveness"; this is "sparkling, crackling, exciting American music". He also wrote that for bebop fans the discovery of these recordings was a kind of event comparable to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls . From this time there is no other live recording of the bebop architects, who interacted in their own element in such a way. With “their groundbreaking facets”, Parker and Gillespie were able to escape the boundaries of the 78s and indulge in their classic bop hymns: “Bebop”, “A Night in Tunisia”, “Groovin 'High”, “Salt Peanuts” and “Hot House” ". It is "the thrill of this CD" that Parker, Gillespie and Roach play solos "for as long as they want" "in front of a crowd that has just found out what magic they conveyed."
Sixty years later, Layman believes it is difficult to remember that this was the avant-garde of the time - music that was described by an authority of the time like Louis Armstrong as "Chinese music " with no place in the history of jazz. “But as soon as the music starts, the crackling of the revolution is pretty much palpable. These guys play as if their lives depend on it - jiggling solos that may not sound 'Chinese' but definitely sound strange, like from a strange and alien world and very likely inspired by a meteor . "Layman described the beginning of the Concert when Don Byas gives the placeholder for the still missing Charlie Parker:
- “Nothing against the impressive Don Byas, but his solo at the beginning of 'Bebop' is laconic and elegant - so that the crowd starts to rave when Bird steps into the room. When Parker finally takes the stage and air rushes through his alto, it is as if Prometheus has just jumped on stage to prove his powers. At that moment the sparks begin to fly at supersonic speed. "[..]" After the merger of Dizzy and Bird, there was hardly any room on stage for a rhythm section , and this concert is probably the best audible proof of their musical intimacy. Not only do they end their phrases at the intersection of their solos, but they seem to inspire each other to take increasingly crazy improvisational risks. "
In Layman's opinion, Max Roach played as always - “easily and quickly and precisely like a needle.” He holds the band together with snare drums and ride cymbals and mainly colors them with the bass drum, “which wanders through the bars like a syncopated acrobat. “When Big Sid Catlett joins the group for“ Salt Peanuts ”and“ Hot House ”, the group swing becomes harder, but also more bombastic. As a result, the balance in the band is partially disturbed; it was "playing so much crazy stuff - by inspiring them to Max Roach, the liberty with his game soloists, quintuplets to force or half-cycles to be with devotion before the beat."
Layman criticizes Al Haig's game that evening; it sounds like it is being trained on the spot. He plays well in the ensemble, with authority and harmonic interest, but his solos lack the energy (compared to the winds). Haig clearly understood the harmonic and rhythmic innovations of the bop, but his solos are not as adventurous as those of Gillespie and Perker. One of the highlights of the recording is Layman Parker's playing in "A Night in Tunisia", when it fills the famous break that leads to the solos. “This five-second improvisation, devilish in execution and design, seems to summarize almost everything that jazz is good at.” Ultimately, this concert is less unique and unusual than it is typical, so the author's summary; "A night with flaming bop from the guys who invented it."
Chris Kelsey ( JazzTimes ) mentions the hyperbole with which The New York Times praised this long-lost recording as the " rosetta stone of bebop". Here the musicians recap part of the same material from the previous studio sessions in concert. The music on this album is not that different from the known recordings, but it is mostly great. The author particularly highlights - like other authors - Bird's break in "A Night in Tunisia"; Similar to his Dial Studio version from 1946, Parker's playing is more straightforward, "without the rhythmic hiccups that made the ultimate recording so stunning."
Samuel Chell ( All About Jazz ) critically notes that the music never really catches fire. For a change, the two protoganists sounded like "a couple of guys playing one gig while they think about getting ready in time to get the next one later that night." They don't "chase" each other like gladiator arch-rivals who do Lock the horns, and the rhythm section, though fluid and assured, does little to stir up any flames. Bird's four-bar break in “Night in Tunisia” would be played on a level that probably went beyond the imagination, let alone the performance of another musician, but this version clearly does not have the “melodic-rhythmic complexity of the incredible 1947 recording” from the Carnegie Hall .
According to the author, the sound quality is appropriate, perhaps “more spacious” and more lifelike than the subsequent recording from the Massey Hall. Unfortunately, Curley Russell's bass was just as weak as it was when these musicians were recording in the 1940s, and Roach did not seem to have developed the determined drive that would become the hallmark of his later playing. Al Haig, on the other hand, sounds competent, but relatively boring and predictable - his solo on “Groovin 'High” contains not just one, but two simple E flat major scales. It cannot be compared to a Thelonious Monk or Bud Powell . For a few moments he felt like a member of the audience, closer than ever to Diz, Bird and the milieu of 1945, so Chell's résumé. "A nice visit that, frankly, will hardly be repeated."
Michael G. Nastos awarded the album three (out of 5) stars to the album in Allmusic and notes that the quality of the recording and the long-neglected durability of this recording are anything but ideal. The highlights for the author are the titles with the brilliant Max Roach, especially "Salt Peanuts", in which the pianist Al Haig is also impressive next to him. The rhythm section, especially Haig, is more present in the mix and in the foreground, while the trumpet and alto saxophone disappear in the background. This would improve as the concert progressed, and Gillespie's muffled trumpet could be heard more clearly. The first piece "Bebop" with a Parker arriving late is a historical document; the tenor saxophonist Don Byas, who partially replaces him, sounds great “until Parker steps on the stage and increases the stakes”. All bebop fans should happily accept the recording despite their audio deficits, so the author's summary.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Will Layman: Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945. Pop Matters, September 1, 2005, accessed October 7, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Review of Michael G. Nastos' album at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ↑ These were the three studio sessions for the Guild label. At the first session on February 28, 1945 Dizzy Gillespie (tp), Charlie Parker (as), Clyde Hart (p), Remo Palmieri (git), Slam Stewart (kb) and Cozy Cole (dr) played the tracks "Groovin '" High ”,“ All the Things You Are ”,“ Dizzy Atmosphere ”. During the second guild session on May 11, 1945 with Dizzy Gillespie (tp, vcl), Charlie Parker (as), Al Haig (p), Curly Russell (kb), Sidney Catlett (dr), the title "Salt Peanuts" was created , "Shaw Nuff", "Hot House" and the vocal number " Lover Man " with Sarah Vaughan .
- ^ Dizzy Gillespie - Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 at Discogs
- ↑ David Remnick: 100 Essential Jazz Albums. The New Yorker, May 12, 2008, accessed October 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Chris Kelsey: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945. JazzTimes, January 1, 2006, accessed October 17, 2019 .
- ^ Samuel Chell: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945. All About Jazz, October 29, 2005, accessed October 17, 2019 .