Personnel:
Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge (tp), Flip Phillips, Illinois Jacquet (ts), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Gene Krupa (d), Ella Fitzgerald (vcl)
Reference: FSRCD 441
Bar code: 8427328604413
This de luxe 2-CD Box Set of previously unissued live recordings, includes a 16-page booklet plus a facsimile reproduction of the original German program that was handed during JATP's 1956 European tour.
In superb Hi-Fi Digitally Remastered sound, the only unreleased and undocumented Jazz At The Philharmonic show to see the light of day in recent years. What makes this extraordinary discovery so special is the consistently high level of invention, musicality, inspiration, excitement, sense of swing, and the relaxed spirit of happiness that pervades virtually every moment of this Hamburg concert that took place during JATPs fifth annual tour of Europe. There is no arguing that Norman Granz made, with the JATP concerts, his most spectacular contribution to the history of jazz.
"In a day when most jazz artists play in clubs seating 40-150, it’s hard to believe that at one time hard bopping players performed before packed auditoriums without sacrificing any style or substance. Thanks to the vision of producer Norman Granz who put together the famed package tours of Jazz At The Philharmonic, legends of the swing and bebop era are captured on recordings as they were supposed to be recorded, blowing their brains out in ecstatic sounds. Here's a box set that show how “live” music can actually sound “alive”.
The February 29, 1956 is one for the books, with an overflowing amount of superstars I would pay hundreds of dollars to see today. A Leap Year’s Day concert in Hamburg includes Dizzy Gillespie-Roy Eldgridge/tp, Flip Phillips-Illinois Jacquet/ts, Oscar Peterson/g, Ray Brown/b and Gene Krupa/dr as well as the Queen of JATP, Ella Fitzgerald in a bopping mood.
Dizzy is in his own atmosphere when featured on “My Man”, with the soloists digging into the jams of “Jam At the JATP” (aka “Honeysuckle Rose”) and “The Modern Set” (“I Found A New Baby”). Then th tenors take charge with Phillips glowing on “These Foolish Things” and Jacquet blowing cigar rings during “A Ghost Of A Chance”. Krupa doesn’t miss Barbara Stanwyck as he cracks the whip on “Drum Boogie” and Eldridge bars no holds on “Rockin’ Chair”. Oscar Peterson’s trio with Herb Ellis/g and Ray Brown/dr glide through “Easy Does It” and bop through a torrid “How High The Moon” before being joined by Krupa in backing Ella Fitzgerald for a fun “Hard Hearted Hannah”, glistening “Lullaby of Birdland” and suave “I Love Paris” before tearing the house down with “Lady Be Good”.
If you want to know what’s missing in today’s music, play this a few times and your questions will all be answered. Many aspire, few attain."
—George W. Harris (October 7, 2024)
https://www.jazzweekly.com
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"An outstanding JATP discovery,! June 1, 2007, Fresh Sounds has put together an outstanding 2-CD box with richly illustrated booklets from Norman Granz's Feb. 29, 1956, Jazz at the Philharmonic Concert in Hamburg, Germany. Ella Fitzgerald and the Oscar Peterson Trio (with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown, plus drummer Gene Krupa) present 15 classics on one disc. The JATP All Stars (trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, plus saxophonists Flip Phillips and Illinois Jacquet) join Peterson, Ellis, Brown and Krupa for jams, modern jazz, ballads and a Krupa drum solo on the second CD. The sound is outstanding throughout. Many of the first JATP recordings were issued on Verve, and several others followed when Granz moved to Pablo. This is the first new JATP recording issued in recent years, and it belongs in any serious fan's collection. With Granz, Fitzgerald, Krupa and too many other All Stars gone now, we can only hope more of these once-in-a-lifetime sessions will turn up in the near future."
https://www.amazon.com
