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Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival
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Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival guitar tabs

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Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra

Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival - Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra Audio CD

A fair review of the Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival "Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival reviews here, or go back to the Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival tabs.

Band: Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival
Title: Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-05-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Man from Monterey - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 2: Angel City - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 3: Love Theme from the Sandpiper - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 4: Groovin' High - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 5: Be's That Way - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 6: Big Sur - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 7: Moontide - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 8: Things Are Here - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie 9: Tin Tin Deo - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 10: I'm in the Mood for Love - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 11: Night Flight - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 12: Our Man Flint - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 13: Seesaw - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 14: Batucada Surgiu - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 15: 17 Mile Drive - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 16: Patch of Blue - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 17: Latin Lady - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 18: Blues for a Debutante - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 19: Sweets for My Sweet - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody 20: Wild Chestnuts - Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, , James Moody

TWICE THE MUSIC
Lost it over the years, and am glad that Blue Note reissues it with a double amount of music. I bought this release as an LP when it first came out. The great drummer, Earl Palmer(from New Orleans) is a driver on the first nine tracks. Gil, Dizzy & Moody in their heyday. Tremendous!

Mr. Jazz WRIR-FM Richmond, VA.

Two complementary albums on one cd
The first album features Dizzy Gillespie as a star, the second ("Night Flight") stars James Moody with his flute and sax virtuosity. Putting together two LPs that Gil Fuller-led Monterey jazz festival orchestra recorded with two distinctive and highly compatible old friends seems like a good idea. . .

And, yes, Gil Fuller is the arranger famous for his work with the great Dizzy Gillespie's big band and he also hired James Moody who became one of Dizzy's favorite associates.

So far so good. However, the performances of Gillespie and Moody, when compared with the hights of their carreer simply do not measure, whereas the orchestra is surprisingly bland considering not too frequent individual shining moments from the memebers (for instance, good old Harry "Sweets" Edison steps out of the background only on one song to trade-off with Dizzy. . . ).

Now, if the Monterey jazz festival orchestra managed to bring Dizzy and Moody in the same studio (in either of two orchestra line-ups), that might produce the music worthy of everyone involved. . .
This is really good modern jazz, but hardly essential, although Dizzy or Moody collectors and fans will definitivelly want it. But putting both albums together just reminds me how much better it might have been with both giants together with a Fuller led outfit.

BTW

It's not live as some claim.

Gil Fuller's Tour de Force
But what's even better with this new release is the inclusion of Night Flight with James Moody. It's great that Blue Note has re-released Gil Fuller and the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra Featuring Dizzy Gillespie after having been out of print for too many years. They shoulda done this the first time around!

These are two first rate albums which highlight Gil Fuller's tremendous arranging and conducting abilities. Gillespie, of course, is a household name among jazz fans but Fuller and Moody are probably more obscure, and undeservedly so.

For those (like me), a Johnny Richards fan, who love driving big bands with lots of nice brass, French horns and biting trumpet sections, these albums deliver in spades.

The personnel, for the most part, are different for both sessions but the musicianship is nonetheless uniformly excellent and the results reflect that.

Gillespie is fine on his session but, for me, it is ex-Kenton-ite, Gabe Baltazar's searing alto solos on several selections that steal the show. Fuller's arrangements are outstanding throughout with up tempo "Man From Monterey" setting the tone for the album. "Love Theme From:The Sandpiper" is gorgeous and a highpoint for Gillespie. I also love Fuller's intro to "Things Are Here" before the tempo picks up.

Night Flight is also a swinging affair but emphasizes Latin rhythms more than the first album. Moody is excellent throughout and I love his flute work on "Tin Tin Deo. " My favorites on this album are "17 Mile Drive", a swinger which builds to an exciting climax, and "A Patch of Blue" featuring a nice Moody Alto and beautiful Fuller arrangement which starts out with a nod to "My Foolish Heart. "

It's hard to choose one album over another here because both are very well done. My choice is the one with Diz because of overall consistency but this is a nonetheless a tremendous reissue and a bargain at the current prices.

The sound quality is excellent and in Stereo for both issues. My only gripe is that engineers have ever so slightly cut short some of those tunes which fade out at the end. I've seen that happen all too often in other releases as well. Ok, I'm a nit picker, but there's no excuse for that.

Great big band jazz, so pick this one up before it, too, goes out of print. . . again!

.

You can see a complete list of all Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival discography, or go back to the Dizzy Gillespie & James Moody with Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.