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Jazz at the Philharmonic


EKE BBB

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Norman Granz´s Jazz at the Philharmonic was a way to gather some wonderful musicians of that era, a neverending all-stars jam session. They produced marvellous music (Hawk-Prez-Illinois Jacquet; Bird&Prez...).

It was a musical, sociological, and cultural phenomenon whose most outstanding element, often, was audience participation.

Nevertheless, the audience's contribution usually consisted not only of listening, but of whistling, yelling, stomping, and clapping time on the wrong beats.

It was criticized, as well, of being some kind of slight disorganization and an all-out blowing.

What do you think?

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  • 3 months later...

Put me on the side the digs JATP. I have the box set, and most of the others, and I play them a lot. There is something about the best of the JATP that I find, dare I say it? fun! Sure, there are moment that are kitsch, with the honking and yelling, especially the Chicago date, but there's more than enough great times to make it worthwhile. Parker, Young, The Hawk, Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson, Illinios Jaquet (sp!), Ella, Les Paul, and many more greats -- what's not to like?

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It may at times have played to the gallery, but how could anyone not love large chunks of the JATP oeuvre? And one thing that is often forgotten: Granz paid top dollar to the musicians, black and white, and employed quite a few who were otherwise deemed unemployable, either literally, due to cabaret card problems/police harassment, or figuratively, as a consequence of their lifestyle and/or lack of self discipline.

Edited by PFunkJazz
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It's probably a little of both, an attempt to create the jam session before a live audience but how could you not love it. The music is darn good. There are some tremendous solos and you get to hear some musicians that you might not otherwise hear. Tommy Turk, the trombonist comes to mind. One of my great pickups.

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It certainly is not circuis! I can not say that it is magic ALL the time, but for the most time, about 80-90% it IS magic! How can anybody ever not accept to listen to Bird, Pres, Hawk, Mingus, Dizzy, Rich and other greats played together.

And we can only hope for more to come later. Somewhere I've read that there is more material that Granz got with him when he sold Verve. It is only hope.

As it is for 1949-59 section to be issued.

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I'm a huge fan of these recordings (obviously, not old enough to have actually ATTENDED any of these events!).

The JATP box is a little miniature history of jazz, not a bad place for someone to start who is trying to get a sense of the history of jazz from the swing era up through Parker and Gillespie (assuming they don't have to have pristine studio sound). Yeah, the view they'd get would be a little warped, but not so much that they wouldn't know how to go forth from there.

You know, JATP looks so UN-circuslike from a 2003 vantage point...in an era where it seems every other jazz recording has to have some producer- or label-enforced theme - most of which are rather stiffly and unorganically executed - the idea that simply "arranging" things by bringing stars from disparate backgrounds together to jam on some well-worn changes is creating a "circus" is kind of comical to me. If only all jazz concepts these days were as loose and open to the interpretation and fire of the individual artists.

Edited by DrJ
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Guest ariceffron

this bar here in tacoma, kellys, this guy red kelly came off the road w/ the big bands and he then opened this place and just last sat. night was the last night ever. and everyone from seattle like bill ramsey and jay thomas came and it was loose and everyone was getting wasted but everyone was having fun. do any of you know this place it was rad.

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It's too bad that Babelfish doesn't have an Aric-to-English translation option. For what it's worth, here's Aric's post translated into Spanish and then back into English...

"This bar in Tacoma, Kellys, this Kelly red of the individual left the way with great Wendish them here and it then opened east place and hardly the seated night last was yesterday at night always and each one of Seattle as the Ramsey and Jay Thomas of the account came and were loose and each one obtained lost but each one had diversion does to anyone of you you know east place that was rad."

I'm not sure which version is clearer... ;)

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It's too bad that Babelfish doesn't have an Aric-to-English translation option. For what it's worth, here's Aric's post translated into Spanish and then back into English...

"This bar in Tacoma, Kellys, this Kelly red of the individual left the way with great Wendish them here and it then opened east place and hardly the seated night last was yesterday at night always and each one of Seattle as the Ramsey and Jay Thomas of the account came and were loose and each one obtained lost but each one had diversion does to anyone of you you know east place that was rad."

I'm not sure which version is clearer... ;)

"Every day is a magical circus."

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  • 3 years later...

I don't know if this is the correct thread, I was looking for a general JATP thread or one dedicated to the '44-'49 box.

Anyway, I recently started making my way through the set again, and much of is beautiful.

And the interview Hentoff did with Granz for the fat booklet is pretty interesting from a socio-historical point of view, as well. (But I'd have liked some kind of session-by-session or even track-by-track comment as well, but I guess that's just me...)

Anyway, good news is that this set is about to come out in a cheaper version (not a coffee-table one - will likely not have much of the contents of the big boxes book).

Amazon.de link via org (release date: June 29, 2007):

http://www.amazon.de/Complete-Jazz-Philhar...6918&sr=8-1

The prize is only 39 euro! This is an effin great prize for a lot of wonderful music! (I got an old exhibition piece of the original release with a broken booklet for roughly 60 euro...)

I can't find any more specific information so far.

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yes, and they will do it also with the charlie parker (complete on verve) and lester young (complete verve studio sessions). i found them here (unfortunately without information. they are without the good booklets, im sure): http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/jazz/detail/-/hnum...ome/rsk/hitlist

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/jazz/detail/-/hnum...ome/rsk/hitlist

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/jazz/detail/-/hnum...ome/rsk/hitlist

(i´m waiting for the complete verve bud powell set)

keep boppin´

marcel

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  • 3 months later...

yes, and they will do it also with the charlie parker (complete on verve) and lester young (complete verve studio sessions). i found them here (unfortunately without information. they are without the good booklets, im sure)

From the JPC product description of the JATP set

Die Tracks sind komplett und im selben hochwertigen Remastering versammelt wie in den Original-Boxen. Die Booklets enthalten allerdings lediglich diskographische Angaben und keine Fotos oder Linernotes.

In Babelfish English:

The TRACKS are complete and in the same high-quality rem branch ring met as in the original boxes. The Booklets contains however only discotheque-graphic data and no photos or Linernotes.

The Lester Young booklet was 100 pages long, the Bud Powell 150 IIRC.

F

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  • 1 month later...

Playing this one:

A0087821.jpg

It's part of a Stockholm concert from November 21, 1960, originally a double LP (never on CD, I think, I have a vinyl rip) that contained mostly those parts centered around Dizzy's quintet (w/Leo Wright, Lalo Schifrin, Art Davis, Chuck Lampkin) and guests (two tracks with Cannonball Adderley, Benny Carter and J.J. Johnson, Wright out; one track with Roy Eldridge, Don Byas, Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins and Jo Jones, Wright and Lampkin out; three tracks, including a smokin' "Kush" with J.J., Getz and Candido added to the quintet).

There seem to have been other volumes with the more traditional/mainstream parts. Here's the info from jazzdisco.org:

Jazz At The Philharmonic

"Konserthuset", Stockholm, Sweden, November 21, 1960

Dizzy Gillespie (tp) J.J. Johnson (tb) Cannonball Adderley, Benny Carter (as) Lalo Schifrin (p) Art Davis (b) Chuck Lampkin (d)

63VK377 Bernie's Tune Verve V/V6 8539

63VK378 Swedish Jam -

* Norman Granz Presents "Jazz At The Philharmonic" In Europe, Vol. 1 (Verve V/V6 8539)

= Jazz At The Philharmonic In Europe (Verve 2V6S 8823)

Roy Eldridge (tp) Don Byas, Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins (ts) Lalo Schifrin (p) Art Davis (b) Jo Jones (d)

63VK379 All The Things You Are Verve V/V6 8539

* Norman Granz Presents "Jazz At The Philharmonic" In Europe, Vol. 1 (Verve V/V6 8539)

= Jazz At The Philharmonic In Europe (Verve 2V6S 8823)

Roy Eldridge (tp) Benny Carter (as) Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins (ts) Lalo Schifrin (p) Art Davis (b) Jo Jones (d)

63VK368 Take The "A" Train Verve V/V6 8541

63VK373 (Back Home Again In) Indiana -

63VK369 The Ballad Medley: These Foolish Things -

63VK370 The Ballad Medley: Yesterdays -

63VK371 The Ballad Medley: The Nearness Of You -

63VK372 The Ballad Medley: You Go To My Head -

63VK446 Jazz Portrait Of Brigitte Bardot -

* Norman Granz Presents "Jazz At The Philharmonic" In Europe, Vol. 3 (Verve V/V6 8541)

Dizzy Gillespie (tp -2) J.J. Johnson (tb) Stan Getz (ts) Victor Feldman (vib, p) Sam Jones (b) Louis Hayes (d)

1. 63VK437 Sweet Georgia Brown Verve V/V6 8540

2. 63VK445 Blue 'N Boogie (Bop 'N Boogie) -

3. 63VK438 I Waited For You -

4. 63VK439 A New Town Is A Blue Town unissued

5. 63VK440 Yesterdays Verve V/V6 8540

6. 63VK441 Trotting -

* Norman Granz Presents "Jazz At The Philharmonic" In Europe, Vol. 2 (Verve V/V6 8540)

Dizzy Gillespie (tp) J.J. Johnson (tb) Leo Wright (fl -1) Stan Getz (ts) Lalo Schifrin (p) Art Davis (b) Chuck Lampkin (d) Candido Camero (bgo -2,3)

1. 63VK374 Kush Verve V/V6 8542

2. 63VK375 The Mooch -

3. 63VK376 Wheatleigh Hall -

* Norman Granz Presents "Jazz At The Philharmonic" In Europe, Vol. 4 (Verve V/V6 8542)

= Jazz At The Philharmonic In Europe (Verve 2V6S 8823)

This once again makes me dream of a box or several boxes collecting all the 50s and early 60s JATP sessions in a thorough way!

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on a sidenote, why does Cannonball not turn up on the set with his rhythm section (on Vol. 2, Feldman/Jones/Hayes, with Dizzy, J.J. and Getz)? Kind of weird, no? Would he have asked for too much money to do more than just the two first numbers? Or was he at odds with Granz?

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  • 2 years later...

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