The Quintet Jazz At Massey Hall 1953

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.

The Quintet Jazz At Massey Hall

Average Amazon Customer Rating – %%AVERAGERATING%% Stars

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

the quintent complete massey hall concert

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?

%%CUSTOMERREVIEWS%%

Buying Jazz At Massey Hall

It is available from Amazon.comAmazon.co.ukiTuneseBay

You can also get the Complete recording from Amazon.comAmazon.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?

What Are The THREE Best Live Albums By Charlie Parker?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

You can get these albums from Amazon.comAmazon.co.uk.

Is it one of the best live albums by Dizzy Gillespie?

What Are The FIVE Best Live Albums By Dizzy Gillespie?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

You can get these albums from Amazon.comAmazon.co.uk.

Is it one of the best live albums by Charles Mingus?

What Are The FIVE Best Live Albums By Charles Mingus?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

You can get these albums from Amazon.comAmazon.co.uk.

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.

What Are The FIVE Best Live Jazz Albums?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

You can get these albums from Amazon.comAmazon.co.uk.

You may also be interested in the poll to find the best light jazz, Rat Pack crooners and easy listening live albums.

You can see the complete list of readers polls at Live Album Polls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.