Some oldish monochrome footage of Dizzy Gillespie on one of the channels earlier, playing in London it looked like (a young Ronnie Scott, if I'm not mistaken, in the row of sax players).
Back in the day, one of the owners of the Fiesta restaurant in Westbourne Park Rd went to a theatre to hear Dizzy rehearsing on stage. Perhaps for the same gig that was played tonight. He called the Fiesta excitedly and held the telephone out to catch the sounds. I was in the Fiesta at the time and we all crowded round the phone to hear the stuff... a day or two later the man himself came to the Fiesta and I had the honour of shaking his hand. Someone handed him a large joint and he exclaimed: 'Ain't that a bitch!'
Great to be carried back like that. He was a helluva trumpet player. I still worry about his distended cheeks though, always think they might burst or split.
Gillespie was a hard man who carried a knife and couldn't be messed with. He got annoyed with Cab Calloway once because he thought Calloway was stealing his scat-singing. Later referred to the time he had 'cut Cab's ass'. He lost that job!
Nice to hear some real bebop. Brings out the hidden sentimentalist in me.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 3 May 15 at 00:44
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Did HE sound like a middle aged black man?
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>> Did HE sound like a middle aged black man?
Tsk. Have to listen to it again to check.
:o}
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There was some more tonight, 1958 and 1970. The 58 was a small combo. There was a sax player who played alto and tenor. He looked familiar but I can't remember a name. Sonny Stitt maybe.
In the big band, that was definitely Ronnie Scott on tenor sax.
Great stuff, really. Dizzy sang a couple of songs with the small combo. And he really did sound like a middle aged black man. I remembered his 'Sunny Side of the Street' from back in the day. Fabulous.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Thu 7 May 15 at 00:40
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>> I remembered his 'Sunny Side of the Street' from back in the day. Fabulous.
= = => www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UEGmAvWfM
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>>Thank you Perro. Nice, no?
You're welcome, Sire. I like all good music, and yes, I did enjoy that 'Dizzy' tune.
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On a distantly related note: my usual comic had a feature yesterday badmouthing the Beatles as totally unoriginal, and another today pointing out that their arrival in America was a great moment.
Tchah! Who gives a damn about the bubblegum aesthetic of US teenyboppers?
Fact of the matter is, the Beatles did actually have a very original sound, noted in a famous article by the then Times music critic. The phrase I remember was 'chains of pandiatonic clusters'. As a group they were for a short time - here, not in the US where they merely got stone rich - really something special. They didn't swing like the Stones, but they were far less derivative than the Stones musically. They did have a dire effect on clothes and haircuts, including mine for a moment or two there. At least the Stones knew how to dress.
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I was more 'into' the Beatles, than the Stones, in the '60's. I even had a Beatle hair cut, Beatle jacket, and high-collar shirt to match. My girlfriend, Beverley, and I used to play 'Love, Love Me Do', and 'She Loves You' etc. from each others council flat so the other could hear it.
The only Stones album I like (and have on CD) is Their Satanic Majesties Request. Not everyone's cup of Rosey Lea, I know. But then I always have been different.
:}
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>>>the Beatles.... They didn't swing like the Stones, but they were far less derivative than the Stones musically.... At least the Stones knew how to dress.
Fair assessment AC. Very much a Stones man myself.. despite exposure to the Beatles from their earliest days I only really like one song... Back in the USSR... and perhaps Dear Prudence that follows on the same album.
A lot of interesting old LPs flow through Fenland towers over the course of a year and some are retained.
Pleased the other week to find an unplayed (until I got hold of it!) mint copy of the Stones first album from 1964 just called "The Rolling Stones". It is a pressing from the late 70s or early 80s but true to the original in mono and the old analogue recording before stuff was messed about with digital remastering. Not quite the street cred of having a 1964 first copy but a little less than the £600 such a thing might fetch in true mint condition
It's interesting as the band sound really raw but in a good way. Most of the tracks are covers like Route 66, Walking The Dog, Carol etc with just one Jagger/Richards credit but there are also a couple of tracks with the co-writing credit of "Phelge" which was the band's own pseudonym for a Jagger/Jones/Wyman/Watts/Richards effort.
I really like these honest old recordings when in great condition... from a time before production overtook the music.
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>> Some oldish monochrome footage of Dizzy Gillespie on one of the channels earlier,
>> playing in London it looked like (a young Ronnie Scott, if I'm not mistaken, in the row of
>> sax players).
Ah yes; sorry AC, I do remember reading and being entertained by your post at the top of this thread now.
I like a bit of swing and big band, but never 'got' 'proper' jazz, including this man's output. However, while driving back from Bath to Reading on Friday evenings I've been listening to Iggy Pop on BBC Radio 6 Music's 'Iggy Confidential'. It's a bit like listening to John Peel in my student days in the 80s - a lot of what he plays is new to me, and while there isn't much that I'd ever go out and buy, I love the variety. He's surprisingly knowledgeable too.
And a couple of times he's played some Dizzy Gillespie. Still not totally convinced, but I'm starting to see the appeal...
Last edited by: Focusless on Sun 2 Aug 15 at 21:12
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I wondered why Jason Gillespie's nickname was Dizzy, now I know why. Everyday is a school day as they say.
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Dizzy - MD
