Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker - Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945

Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker first became aware of each other in 1940 when the former was playing in Cab Calloway's band and the latter with Jay McShann. Two years later they were both living in New York City and a real friendship developed. By 1945 they were recording and gigging together, culminating in this Town Hall concert on June 22, 1945. These recordings languished for sixty years as acetates that weren't even known to exist in their entirety. That this set captures these two formidable players in their ascendancy and with such clarity is a staggering find. Here, with host Symphony Sid announcing the songs (this would have been for his radio show, but apparently never ended up in his possessions), an important chapter in American music is now restored. By the end of the summer of '45 Gillespie and Parker went their separate ways, both emerging with their own bands and reaching new heights of commercial success. --David Greenberger Amazon.com

You'll like it trust me.

As a collector I feel lucky and grateful that these recordings are being made available. It could've been another 25 to 50 years or more before this was found but now it's right here in my hands! I just want to listen to these Town Hall recordings over and over! I hear something different every time. The sound quality is better than a lot of the the recordings that Bird and Dizzy did in the studio. It's amazing to hear these
compositions being played live during the time that the music was still new.
I'm sure a lot of Japanese jazz fans were happy!(I'm one of them!) January 6, 2008

Where have you been??

According to jazz gospel, jazz's Anno Domini is November 1945, when Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie cut several sides including the incredible "Ko Ko". Before then, there was a recording ban that prevented the innovations of the Bebop musicians from being heard. (True, there were some Dizzy Gillespie-led sessions including Salt Peanuts, but they sold so badly that they don't count).

In this version of events, jazz music was totally turned on its head, and the New Testament era of jazz began. When Ko Ko came out in November of 1945, the technical brilliance of the new form of jazz blew everyone away, and the music was changed forever.

But in 2005, this version of events was slightly altered. Finding a complete, live performance of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespi, a full five months before the Ko Ko session, is an astonishing coup. The source of the recording is still rather hazy, with some indications that the anonymous person hoarding them may yet have more to release in years to come. At any rate, this is an astonishing discovery, perhaps even slightly more astonishing than the Monk-Coltrane discovery in the same year.

Dont forget, this is BEFORE the widespread use of tape to record sound (tape was invented in Nazi Germany, and is largely a postwar thing). Also, discs only lasted three minutes a side back in 1945. So you have to imagine some engineers lurking in the Town Hall, with a battery of recording lathes and a pile of fragile lacquer discs, furiously changing discs every three minutes. And yes, they got every note of the concert. Incredibly, the discs were not separated from each other, nor did any of them break over the years! There must have been about twelve or thirteen sides altogether.

Now at last we can hear bebop from before November 1945. The concert is astonishing. I still can't get over Parker's solo on Salt Peanuts, which is really filled with the fresh energy of a newly discovered art form. Another highlight is Night in Tunisia. Both Parker and Gillespie are in terrific form. The crowd seems very appreciative; although the liner notes include a contemporary review which says of Dizzy's music, in effect, "too many notes"! Also, Parker arrives late for the first tune, Bebop; I wonder exactly what he was doing out back?

The sound quality is fantastic. It was far better than I expected. The first few bars of "Bebop" are a bit muddy; but aside from that the sound is the equal of the Royal Roosts, perhaps even slightly better.

So I would heartily encourage anyone to get this disc; whether you are totally new to jazz, or a crusty veteran. The music is very accessible. Music this good, and a discovery that is this historically important, should be heard by everyone!!! May 20, 2006

Dizzy Atmosphere

Just when the listener thinks that Be Bop has been worn out and has little else to offer, we are presented with lost recordings that, once again, show what all of the fuss was about. This is Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie at the top of their game, giving a seminar on flatted fifths and fast playing. April 27, 2006

Don't Overlook This Underrated Gem!

The Gillespie-Parker Town Hall CD is easy to overlook next to Monk-Parker--but that would be a loss. For one thing, the listener to this CD is privy to on-going commentary and intros by legendary jazz and beebop deejay "Symphony Sid"--offering an inside peek at the birth of some innovative tunes. Evidently Parker was (characteristically) late for the show: Sid had given lots of verbal patter to the eager crowd; Parker comes in the auditorium mid-way through the first number; the group doesn't skip a beat! Sid proceeds to tell the audience the music is going to flow rapidly because you folks sure waited long enough, and flow it certainly does--Tunisia; Salt Peanuts--the musicians playing top quality to a very appreciative crowd. Recording quality is fine for the time and place. Highlight: drummer Sydney Catlett stays for an encore despite Sid telling him he's got to be somewhere else. An all-around entertaining and informative birth of beebops by the legends experience April 13, 2006

Diz and Bird at Town Hall June 22, 1945;

I read a rave review of "this masterpiece" record in The New Yorker. I was underwhelmed compared to that review.
However, these are good early beebop performances and the accompanying notes and copies of contemporary reviews support a better understanding of what's going on. In particular, there are some very interesting comments re perceptions of what was going on that day at Town Hall in Leonard Feather's July 1945 Metronome review, which is reproduced.
There are three Gillespie classics: Beebop, A Night in Tunisia and Salt Peanuts running about seven minutes each. These are the longest early recordings of these numbers that I have heard.
Perhaps even more interesting would be the as yet unapproved release of the second half of the Concert with a program by a very young Errol Garner and Don Byas. March 3, 2006

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