What more can you ask for? One of the greatest jazz guitarists of our time, Joe Pass; one of the greatest jazz bassists of our time and one of the greatest jazz drummers of out time. And they are accompanying the legend, Dizzy Gillespie. Their chemistry is spectacular. Never a dull moment with these four. An awesome piece of jazz history.
February 10, 2005 |  | Quite simply... the best! |  |
I have to say that this is probably the finest thing I've got of Dizzy's on cd. Of all the Bebop, Cubop and big band recordings I own, this is the best example of what this man can do. Small group combos bring the best outta Diz, and he is in the greatist of company. He takes a standard like 'Russian Lullaby' and transports it into Bebop heaven! 'Frelimo' rides the latin/funk train, Bebop and Birks works never sounded better. Pass, Roker and Brown shine here, who needs anyone else when this quartet gets cookin?! September song melts my heart each time. The engineering on the recording is fantastic, you can hear a pin drop. Every nuance is captured. Pushing 60 when this was recorded, I dont think the timbre and excecution ever sounded better from Diz. One of my all time favourite Jazz discs.
October 21, 2004This is a great album. Mickey Roker's drumming is funky yet cool, Ray Brown is solid as always, and Joe Pass plays like you never thought he could. Dizzy is, of course, in fine form.
Interesting note, however, my cd lists track 1 as "Frelimo" not "Tanga." Also, it's on the "Oriigal Jazz Classics" series of Fantasy, Inc. This is probably one of those rare records that has been in and out of print many times.
Also of note, this same band appears with Milt Jackson replacing Dizzy Gillespie on an album called "Quadrant" with Joe Pass in the leader's chair. It is also quite amazing.
August 15, 2004I first heard of the "Big 4" Pass recording when I was perusing Rolling Stones' Record Guide for the "5 star" records. I bought it back in 1982 and have since bought it again as a CD. I am writing this while I am searching for Joe's other recordings, believe me, you will enjoy this recording immensely, as I have for the last 15 years!
January 30, 1999More reviews at Amazon.com ...
