Dizzy Gillespie - Odyssey 1945-1952 (2002)

This excellent three-disc set contains 64 great songs performed by Dizzy Gillespie and company in varied settings. Odyssey: 1945-1952 chronicles the master trumpeter in small groups, big bands, a session with strings, and also some blues. Among the rare treats on the collection are a full-fledged Gillespie big band score "Interlude (A Night in Tunisia)," performed here with the Boyd Raeburn Orchestra, where Gillespie worked for a couple of weeks at a time in both 1944 and 1945. The inimitable "Groovin' High" is played by the Dizzy Gillespie Sextet of which Charlie Parker, Cozy Cole, and Slam Stewart were members. The song is heard here as a classic bebop contrafact based on the chord progression of "Whispering," which became a million-seller for Paul Whiteman. Disc one also features "Slim's Jam," a song that is ripe with Gillespie conversation, including one with sax great Charlie Parker about his reed. This song makes you feel as if you are right there in the recording session. The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet play a humorous "Salt Peanuts" and features the young Sarah Vaughan singing "Lover Man." Disc two includes music by such great bands as the Ray Brown All Stars, the BeBop Boys, who featured Dizzy Gillespie tearing down the house with such jazz notables as James Moody, Milt Jackson, and Hank Jones, playing such great songs as "Moody Speaks" and "Boppin' the Blues." Disc three has some of the best excitement from Gillespie's musical diary and provides a fascinating insight into his life and times with such jazz giants as Percy Heath, J.J. Johnson, Art Blakey, and Stuff Smith on "Oh Lady Be Good," "Love Me Pretty Baby," and "Caravan." Savoy has reissued one of the best documentations of Gillespie's artistry in recent times. For those who are just learning about the great Dizzy Gillespie or for those who have an extensive collection of his music, this box set supplies a comprehensive review of his timeless musical itineraries during 1945-1952. All selections have been transferred to digital tape from the original monaural master tapes and acetates stored in Denon's Savoy vaults. A must-have.

Tracklist:

CD 1:

01. Blue 'N' Boogie (Dizzy Gillespie/Frank Paparelli feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
02. Groovin' High (Dizzy Gillespie/Frank Paparelli feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
03. All the Things You Are (Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
04. Dizzy Atmosphere (feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
05. Salt Peanuts (Kenny Clarke/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet)
06. Shaw 'Nuff (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker feat. Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet)
07. Lover Man (Jimmie Davis/Jimmy Davis/Roger "Ram" Ramirez/Jimmy Sherman feat. Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet)
08. Hot House (Tadd Dameron/Charlie Parker feat. Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet)
09. Interlude (A Night in Tunisia) (Dizzy Gillespie/Raymond Leveen/Frank Paparelli feat. Boyd Raeburn Orchestra)
10. Evil Gal Blues (Leonard Feather/Lionel Hampton feat. Don Byas/Albinia Jones)
11. Don't Wear No Black (Albinia Jones)
12. Dizzy's Boogie (feat. Slim Gaillard & His Orchestra)
13. Flat Foot Floogie (Bud Green feat. Slim Gaillard & His Orchestra)
14. Poppity Pop (feat. Slim Gaillard & His Orchestra)
15. Slim's Jam (feat. Slim Gaillard & His Orchestra)
16. One Bass Hit (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
17. Oop-Bop-Sh-Bam (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
18. A Hand Fulla Gimme (Al Haig/Sonny Stitt feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
19. That's Earl Brother (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
20. He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped (Lorraine Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
21. Our Delight (Tadd Dameron feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
22. Good Dues Blues (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)

CD 2:

01. One Bass Hit (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
02. Ray's Idea (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
03. Things to Come (Gil Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
04. He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped (Dizzy Gillespie/Lorraine Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
05. I Waited For You (Gil Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
06. Emanon (Dizzy Gillespie/Milton Shaw feat. Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra)
07. For Hecklers Only (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller/Walter Fuller feat. The Be Bop Boys)
08. Smokly Hollow Blues (Ray Brown/Gil Fuller feat. The Be Bop Boys/Ray Brown)
09. Boppin the Blues (Ray Brown feat. The Be Bop Boys)
10. Moody Speaks (Dave Burns/James Moody feat. The Be Bop Boys/Ray Brown)
11. Swing Low Sweet Cadillac (Dizzy Gillespie/Traditional feat. Johnny Richards)
12. Lullaby of the Leaves (Bernice Petkere/Joe Young feat. Johnny Richards)
13. I Found a Million Dollar Baby (Mort Dixon/Billy Rose/Harry Warren feat. Johnny Richards)
14. What Is There to Say? (Vernon Duke/E.Y. "Yip" Harburg feat. Johnny Richards Orchestra)
15. Alone Together (Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz feat. Johnny Richards Orchestra)
16. These Are the Things I Love (Harold Barlow/Lewis Harris feat. Johnny Richards)
17. On the Alamo (Isham Jones/Gus Kahn feat. Johnny Richards)
18. Interlude in C (Sergey Rachmaninov feat. Johnny Richards)
19. We Love to Boogie (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
20. Tin Tin Deo (Gil Fuller/Dizzy Gillespie/Chano Pozo feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
21. Birk's Works (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)

CD 3:

01. Oh! Lady Be Good (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
02. Love Me, Pretty Baby (Kenny Clarke/Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
03. Champ, The (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
04. I'm in a Mess (A. White feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
05. School Days (Chuck Berry/Stanley Clarke/Will D. Cobb/Gus Edwards feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
06. Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
07. Bopsie's Blues - (alternate take) (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
08. Bopsie's Blues - (master take) (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
09. I Couldn't Beat the Rap (Dizzy Gillespie feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
10. Caravan - (alternate take) (Duke Ellington/Irving Mills/Juan Tizol feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
11. Caravan - (master take) (Duke Ellington/Irving Mills/Juan Tizol feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
12. Nobody Knows (Kenny Clarke/Charles Mingus feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
13. The Bluest Blues (Dizzy Gillespie/Gary McFarland/Sir Charles Thompson feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
14. On the Sunny Side of the Street (Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
15. Star Dust (Hoagy Carmichael/Mitchell Parish feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
16. Time on My Hands (Harold Adamson/Mack Gordon/Vincent Youmans feat. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet)
17. Blue Skies (Irving Berlin feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
18. The Umbrella Man (James Cavanaugh/Vincent Rose/Larry Stock feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
19. Pops' Confessin' (Doc Daugherty/Ellis Reynolds feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
20. Oo-Shoo-Be-Doo-Be (Joe Carroll/Dizzy Gillespie/Bill Graham feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)
21. They Can't Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin feat. Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)