Jazz At Massey Hall is a live album by The Quintet. It is a recording of the concert at Massey Hall in Toronto 15 May 1953.
This begs the question “who are the Quintet?”
Just possibly the greatest assembly of jazz talent ever put together on one stage… Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach.
I understand that this was the last time that Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker ever recorded together because of bad feelings between them.
An extended recorded version of this concert has also been released with 14 songs but half of them don’t include Parker and Gillespie. The purist in me thinks that you should go straight for the longer concert but it’s live Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie that attracts me.
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Songs On The Quintet Jazz At Massey Hall
1. Perdido
2. Salt Peanuts
3. All The Things You Are
4. Wee
5. Hot House
6. A Night In Tunisia
Songs On The Complete Jazz At Massey Hall
Perdido – 8:16
Salt Peanuts – 7:37
All the Things You Are – 7:14
52nd Street Theme – 0:42
Drum Conversation – 4:38
Cherokee – 4:55
Embraceable You – 4:25
Hallelujah – 4:00
Sure Thing – 2:13
Lullaby of Birdland – 2:33
I’ve Got You Under My Skin – 3:02
Wee (Allen’s Alley) – 6:47
Hot House – 9:10
A Night in Tunsia – 7:34
Charles Mingus was responsible for recording the concert and he was unhappy with the sound of his bass. He “corrected” this in the studio by overdubbing newly recorded bass lines.
The latest complete version on The Jazz Factory takes out the overdubbing and leaves us with the bass as it was recorded.
Remarkably Charlie Parker played a plastic saxophone because, it is alleged, his proper sax was in a pawn shop to finance Parker’s drug habit. Who would have thought a plastic instrument could sound this good?
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Buying Jazz At Massey Hall
It is available from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk – iTunes – eBay
You can also get the Complete recording from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
What Do You Think?
Is this a great live album?
Is it one of the best live albums by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie or Charles Mingus?
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Is it one of the best live albums by Dizzy Gillespie?
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Is it one of the best live albums by Charles Mingus?
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The Best Live Albums Of All Time
Please vote in my poll to find the best live jazz albums. While you may not have heard all of them, I see a vote as a recommendation to other readers.
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