Diz/Pettiford/Budd @ The Onyx-1943

[JSngry]

I'm getting into Alyn Shipton's Dizzy bio, and my jaw nearly falls off when I read that a Bob Redcross recording of the Gillespie/Pettiford group w/Budd Johnson, George Wallington, & Max Roach playing "A Night In Tunisia" at the Onyx had been discovered in 1995 and subsequently issued.

WTF?!?! Has this only been issued on one of those French Masters/Giants/Whatevers of Jazz ultra-comprehensive things that you can't find anymore? If not, where can I go to get this crucially historical document?

As always, thanks in advance.

[mikeweil]

The only "A Night In Tunisia" I could find in Bruyninckx that possibly could be the one in question is listed under a December 29, 1945 broadcast from Billy Berg's, with the infamous Gillespie/Parker/Jackson/Haig/Brown/Levey line-up, but whereas the other three tracks popped up on various Klacto, Spotlite etc LPs, this is said to have been issued on Philology W80-2. So maybe....... There is no respective entry under Pettiford's name. The Philology CD otherwise contains Parker live tracks from 1951, 1952 and 1954.

[Pete B]

This entry from an Oscar Pettiford discography that I found online (sorry, I can't locate the link right now):

4403 (?) Broadcast from the Onyx Club, NYC. Dizzy Gillespie - Oscar Pettiford. Dizzy Gillespie tp, Budd Johnson ts, George Wallington p. Oscar Pettiford b, Max Roach d.

· A Night In Tunisia

Dizzy Gillespie. Masters of Jazz (F) 43-44 vol. 4. - In 4403 Budd Johnson replaced Don Byas. The group soon broke up. OP stayed at the Onyx.

To my knowledge, this cut was introduced to the world by Phil Schaap on one of his broadcasts.

Jim - email and I'll hook you up.

Pete

[JSngry]

Incoming!

[John L]

The Night in Tunisia from Billy Berg's is just a scrap, the head and no solos.

Edited September 16, 2004 by John L

[P.D.]

The Night in Tunisia from Billy Berg's is just a scrap, the head and no solos.

I believe the one referred to above is the Onyx recordingfrom Jan 1944

it is the opposite the track lasts 3.49.. according to the sleeve and takes off from the beginning (? ) of Budd's solo.. there is no theme introduction. Gillespie then solos, a bit from Wallington and then the theme and the typical closing coda.

The recording quality makes it sound though it was taken from an old 78 or LP that had been played many times and then used as a welcome mat to a bird cage.

I suspect the original recording equipment contributed to the sound quality too.

It was taken from the radio by Bob Redcross

"The sound quality is lamentable, but this document is of such capital importance in jazz annals- that it screams for inclusion here. More over it offers a trumpet solo by Dizzy as breathtaking as it is marvellous" Alan Tercinet in the notes.

Just for interest the CD also includes 5 tracks of Dizzy taking the trumpet chair in the John Kirby sextet, also from the same year and also taken from broadcasts.

[brownie]

Volume 4 of the Masters of Jazz series on Dizzy Gillespie ends with a previously unissued head arrangement featuring Dizzy accompanied by a couple of other trumpet players and a rhythm section, all unidentified. Dizzy's playing on this incomplete 'The Dizzy Crawl' is plain magnificient. The number was recorded by Jerry Newman at Clark Monroe's Uptown Club in October 1941.

A shame that those Masters of Jazz albums are no longer available.