NEW, NEVER HEARD, DIZZY & BIRD FROM UPTOWN

[Swinging Swede]

Damn! It would have been interesting to hear his take on Bird and Diz though. Allegedly he spoke positively about Ornette Coleman.

[chris]

OK, this has REALLY whetted my appetite. Is there a web site to order from Uptown and other Nessa discs? Or a mailing list? What's the story? I see Cadence carries some but is that the best source?

I've been searching the threads for this info but I've given up

[Chuck Nessa]

Might try emailing me at cnessa@earthlink.net. B-)

[mgraham333]

any chance for a public update here?

[mgraham333]

Did I see this available for pre-order at CDUniverse?

Is there a better way to order (more beneficial to Chuck) ?

[Bill B]

Why no track listing ?

[jazzbo]

Might try emailing me at cnessa@earthlink.net. B-)

←

mgraham, I think that an email to Chuck may be in order!

[Chuck Nessa]

1. Introductions 1:43

2. BeBop 6:53

3. A Night In Tunisia 7:30

4. Groovin' High 6:59

5. Salt Peanuts 7:14

6. Hot House 8:05

7. 52nd St. Theme 1:56

The timings are a bit deceptive cause of tune introductions.

[Chuck Nessa]

I might take delivery tomorrow, certainly early next week. Then I need to pack/ship orders to the distributors and they need to do the same to stores/web vendors.

That's what I know.

[jazzkrow]

Chuck:

I am getting into this discussion a little late.

What is the recording date, location, and sidemen on this session?

Don Manning, who lives here in Portland and played drums in some club dates with Bird in LA, has been playing up this release for a few years.

Thanks,

Jeff

Edited May 20, 2005 by jazzkrow

[Chuck Nessa]

If you go to the first post in this thread you will get a bunch of information.

Chuck:

I am getting into this discussion a little late.

What is the recording date, location, and sidemen on this session?

Don Manning, who lives here in Portland and played drums in some club dates with Bird in  LA, has been playing up this release for a few years. 

Thanks,

Jeff

←

[Jazzmoose]

Just gave this one it's first listen. Followed immediately by a second. My world is officially rocked!

[Jim Alfredson]

Yeah, it's pretty darn sweet. I'm totally diggin' Max Roach... my god!!!

[ghost of miles]

Raw excitement.... that's all I can say.

[Joe G]

It's all that. ALL that

[MartyJazz]

Fabulous! I'm amazed at how tremendously together Diz and Bird are as early as June 1945. The disc is not just historically interesting, it's damn essential! Great music.

Sidenote: It's a kick also listening to Catlett speak.

[Brad]

The more I listen the more I love Al Haig, way underrated in the Bird world.

[Brad]

For latecomers who don't want to read the thread or just go to the last post, here's the post from Jim S that started this whole thing off:

****

When Chuck came to visit, he brought some tapes. They were all SERIOUSLY deep, but one is going to be issued on Uptown, and it's the kind of thing that defies adequate description, and believe me - no matter how hard I hype it, I'm understating the case. Believe me.

What we're going to be getting is a just-discovered recording of a 1945 Town Hall performance of The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet with Charlie Parker, Al Haig, Curley Russell, & Max Roach (his VERY first recording with Bird!). Symphoiny Sid emcees. The recording was apparently done in-house at Town Hall, and the acetates were just recently stumbled across in one of those stories that is too damn wierd to be true, but nevertheless is.

This is a document of many things, very early, fully-formed bebop finally and totally stripped of all residual Swing flavor being one of the most significant. Al Haig's comping throughout blew me away - some quite interesting chord choices he makes, and Bird & Dizz are on them like white on rice. Can't say that I've ever Haig accompany so boldly ever before. You get guest atars too - Don Byas (more about tthat later), and a rvelatory extended solo by Sid Catlett, who sits in on "Hot House" and offers final proof that yes, he IS Max Roach's daddy. Sid kicks the band off and accompanies the soloists in a thoughroughly boppish manner, but the real story here for me was his solo. I don't know if Catlett's been captured on record doing a long solo like this, but if he was, I'm unaware of it. This is one of the deepest drum solos I've ever heard - it goes through so many changes and is so perfectly MUSICAL, and in it I can hear Max, Chico, Blackwell, Sunny, Rashied, in short, EVERY drummer who came after who approached the drums as a wholistic musical instrument and not just a set of metronomes. This is truly a stunning performance.

And then there's Bird. Of course . Part of jazz legend is how Bird would always be late for a gig and come in the door playing, much to the collectively rising rapture of those present. But for most of us, legend is all it is - we've never heard that on record.

Until now.

As the recording begins, we hear Symphony Sid rapping with the clearly restless crowd. The show appears to have be late starting, but it's now going to begin, and with Don Byas playing. Bird is not there, and you get the feeling that at least a few folks came to hear Bird, if yu get my drift. So anyway, they open with "Bebop", and Byas is fluffing the head pretty badly, but gets off a good solo. All of a sudden, you hear a ruckus coming from the crowd, a rumble that grows in intensity to a bit of a roar, and you know what happened - Bird just walked in, presumably right off the street. I say that because he begins to blow almost immediately, and his horn sounds just a little cold. But JUST a little, and he warms it up REAL quickly. By the time of the third tune, he's FULLY warmed up and blowing as good as anything I've everh heard by him, and better than most of it. Byas, mysteriously, vanishes, and doesn't even play the head out. The crowd goes wild, and frankly, it would have been impossible not to.

So how's Diz? Well, put yourself in his shoes - he's the leader of a band playing what is still a new, basically underground music, he's got a booking at Town Hall, and his star soloist is late to the gig. How do you THINK he is? He's fired up and playing at that level that it seems like he hardly ever played at except when Bird was next to him. Diz in his youth had probably the most amazing chops inthe history of jazz trumpet, and most importantly, an imagination to go with it. He's at the VERY top of his game, and sparks DO fly. Jesus Christ God Almighty do they fly.

I've made iit a point to track down and absorb all the Bird/Diz pairings I can find, live or otherwise, and I kid you not - this onehas a vibe to it that is unlike ANY of the others, even Carnegie Hall 1947, which for my money is at times some of the most frightening music ever captured on record, especially "Dizzy Atmopsphere". Massey Hall has always been a Sacred text for me, but that's a "mature" record. THIS shit is fire-eating, flame throwing early bebop in it's purest form and live, dammit, LIVE, not on a 3 minute 78.

I only heard it once. If I'd have had even a lick of sense, zero integrety, and a shot or two less of Jack, I''d have had the sense to have surreptitously run a recorder of some typ to have someth9ing to tide me over until the real deal gets issued. But that's not me. Once, one time through, was enough to tell me that this is going to be one of those historic issues that becomes an instant histroical landmark and a reference point for generations to come. I almost wish I HADN'T heard it, because now I gotta wait, and I don't WANT to have to wait!

I'll be blunt - if you dig bebop or beyond, have the money, and DON'T buy this when it comes out, you gotta be kidding me. Seriously. No shit. I kid you not - this is the REAL shit in a way of REAL that only gets caught on record, like, almost NEVER. You can cut my nuts off if I'm wrong.

Get ready. It's coming.

[Guest]

I'm thrilled that this is finally coming out, and that it's meeting people's expectations. How did you folks manage to get hold of your copies, though? I haven't seen it in stores, and all the on-line sites I've checked still list it as "not yet released." I'd be very grateful for any information about how to purchase it now, if that is possible.

Thanks in advance - and thanks to Chuck Nessa for what looks like a very important and exciting release.

[Jim Alfredson]

Your best bet is to contact Chuck Nessa through this board (he is a member). Email or PM (private message) although keep in mind he's just leaving to go to St. Louis for a little mini-vacation so he might not get back to you right away.

About that website, Chuck... (ahem)....

[Guest]

Thanks very much for the suggestion; I'll e-mail him right away.

Edited June 9, 2005 by JTB1

[king ubu]

Just gave the disc a first listen on the way to work. WHOOOOAH! I am very much impressed! Diz is witty and good, and Max drops bombs all over the place, Haig is very good as well, but then there's Bird... his entry in "Bebop" (like Sid, I wasn't sure if he'd be there on the first tune, not having looked at any liners so far) is so good! And how Max reacts, wow! Ain't it all there, right in this 40 minutes of music? Just everything that makes jazz such a great art?

Looking at the traycard of the disc I have a question about "Salt Peanuts" - is that Max or Big Sid? Liners say the later, but Symphony Sid only announces Big Sid *after* "Salt Peanuts" - however, I thought I did hear a change in drumming styles right from the beginning of "Salt Peanuts", so...

Chuck: give everybody involved some deep thanks from a devoted fan of the few Uptown releases he owns, so far!

[Fer Urbina]

Just got the Town Hall CD. Many thanks to Chuck Nessa, and a big round of applause to the postal services in the US and the UK.

Posted on June 6, received on June 10.

Nuff said.

F U

[JSngry]

Looking at the traycard of the disc I have a question about "Salt Peanuts" - is that Max or Big Sid? Liners say the later, but Symphony Sid only announces Big Sid *after* "Salt Peanuts" - however, I thought I did hear a change in drumming styles right from the beginning of "Salt Peanuts", so...

I think it's Max on "Salt Peanuts". My guess is Sid came out for "Hot House" & got such a big hand that he stayed on to finsih the set w/the brief "52nd Street Theme". The crowd wouldn't let him go, he needed to go, the set was probably about over anyway, so somebody probably said, "Just finish up, it's just a few more minutes", and he agreed.

That still gives him two tunes as per the tray card, just not the two it says.

[king ubu]

Looking at the traycard of the disc I have a question about "Salt Peanuts" - is that Max or Big Sid? Liners say the later, but Symphony Sid only announces Big Sid *after* "Salt Peanuts" - however, I thought I did hear a change in drumming styles right from the beginning of "Salt Peanuts", so...

I think it's Max on "Salt Peanuts". My guess is Sid came out for "Hot House" & got such a big hand that he stayed on to finsih the set w/the brief "52nd Street Theme". The crowd wouldn't let him go, he needed to go, the set was probably about over anyway, so somebody probably said, "Just finish up, it's just a few more minutes", and he agreed.

That still gives him two tunes as per the tray card, just not the two it says.

←

Thanks for weighing in! Sid (Big Sid, that is) would have been a bad mo-fo to pull all the stuff on "Peanuts" - but then "Hot House" is proof enough that he *was* a bad mo-fo...

From what Symphony Sid says, though, I rather think Sid was gone before 52nd Street Theme was played - but we'll probably never know...