CiTR

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was born on Oct 21,1917 and today we celebrate his 102nd Birthday Anniversary with one of his finest albums with his great working band that stayed together for well over 5 years. Dizzy on trumpet was one of the pioneers of Modern Jazz and he is in magnificent form here. James Moody is heard on alto and tenor saxophones and of course, flute. A young Kenny Barron is on piano at the beginning of his storied career. The rhythm section is the great team of Christopher White on bass and Rudy Collins on drums. The "something old" idea is Dizzy's updating four of his his tunes that he recorded back in the mid 1940s. We'll hear "Bebop", "Good Bait", A segue of "I Can't Get Started and 'Round Midnight" and "Dizzy Atmosphere". The n"something new" is three then new compositions by the talented Tom McIntosh: "November Afternoon", "The Day After". "The Cup Bearers". "This Lovely Feeling" is a bossa nova by Arif Mardin and Margo Guryan. The album ends with Dizzy's night club closing theme "Early Mornin' Blues". All of this was recorded in April of 1963 and is a great representation of this powerhouse band. Happy Birthday Dizzy!