Audio CD review:
Dizzy Gillespie - Groovin' High

Dizzy Gillespie - Groovin' High

Band: Dizzy Gillespie Title: Groovin' High Rating: Release Date: 29 June, 1993 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Blue 'N' Boogie 2: Groovin' High 3: Dizzy Atmosphere 4: All The Things You Are 5: Salt Peanuts 6: Hot House 7: Oop Bop Sh' Bam 8: That's Earl Brother 9: Our Delight 10: One Bass Hit - Part Two 11: Things To Come 12: Rays Idea 13: Emanon

Customer Reviews essential big band bebop This album is less than 40 minutes long, and the sound quality is typical of recordings from that period, but each tune is a winner and the band puts in really tight performances, sometimes at breakneck tempos. In the mid-late 40's Dizzy put together a big band to play the new music which he, Charlie Parker, and others had pioneered a few years earlier. Classics like "Salt Peanuts" mix Dizzy's goofy humor with virtuosic performances. This CD may be short on quantity, but not on quality! Highly recommended. Addicting It's a relatively old record so the quality of the sound will not blow you away, but it's really not bad at all. This disc is essentially a bunch of fast, concise jazz tunes (all around 3 minutes long) full of catchy riffs and great improvisation on the part of Dizzy and, on some tracks, Charlie Parker. As somebody who is often picky about that aspect of a recording, I can tell you that it doesn't bother me a bit here. The music is just that great. In a way, as with old blues records, it even adds to its "character. " The tracks fly by quickly, but I am always happy to give the disc another spin or two when it's over. If you're unfamiliar with Diz, but really want to know what the hell came out of those unreasonably large puffed up cheeks, this CD is not a bad place to start. Dizzy's rendition on this album is innovative,fresh. Especially Jealousie. Fresh, alive. Dizzy puts this mesmerizing latin number into a bit of a tailspin. You feel like you are in eye of this storm of a fiery Latin piece that you get caught up in the swirl of passion that is Jealousie. Only one other rendition of Jealousie has ever been recorded that can be said to be as innovative and daring. And that which employed a full orchestra of trumpeteers, cellists, violinist and latin percussions. The artists escapes my memory but I would dearly love for someone to tell me who they were. There were many recordings of Jealousie over time and this yet to be identified version stands on as high a pedestal as good ol' Dizzy's. . You can see a complete list of all Dizzy Gillespie discography, or go back to the Dizzy Gillespie tabs