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Gillespie in the Fifties

By Patrick Burnette | Jazz Bastard
October 20, 2023
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Most jazz fans know Dizzy Gillespie's crucial role in the creation of bebop and every good collection should have at least a few tracks from his glory days of the forties. The man wrote "Night in Tunisia" for heaven's sake! But what happened later on, after his partner Bird was gone and the listening public had moved on from ooh-bop-sh-bam madness? In this episode we look at five recordings from the following decade and ponder why a genius-level player like Dizzy struggled after the bebop revolution.

Playlist

Discussion of Dizzy Gillsepie's album Afro (Nogren) 17:45
Discussion of Dizzy Gillsepie's album Sonny Side Up (Verve) 31:34
Discussion of Dizzy Gillsepie's album With Stuff Smith (Verve) 42:14
Discussion of Dizzy Gillsepie's album Have Trumpet, Will Excite (Verve) 54:27
Discussion of Dizzy Gillsepie's album Portrait of Duke Ellington (Verve) 1:07:53
Pop Matters (Live concerts by Charles McPherson and Oz Noy) 1:23;5

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About Dizzy Gillespie

Instrument: Trumpet

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