Quintet Of The Year: Quintet Of The Year - Jazz Reference (CD)

Quintet Of The Year

CD

CD (Compact Disc)

Herkömmliche CD, die mit allen CD-Playern und Computerlaufwerken, aber auch mit den meisten SACD- oder Multiplayern abspielbar ist.

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Label:: Dreyfus
Aufnahmejahr ca.:: 1953
UPC/EAN:: 3460503677425
Erscheinungstermin:: 11.11.2004

More than fifty years later, some still consider it as the best gig in history – ‘The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever’. Organised on 15 May 1953 by Toronto’s New Jazz Society in Massey Hall in this Canadian city more known for its stock exchange and museums than for bebop which must have then seemed very exotic for its inhabitants, the concert went down in history for two main reasons, the second being quite simply that it was recorded. The first, as we can guess, was its line-up, boasting on the same stage and for a unique night five jazz giants, four of whom were considered among the masters and inventors of the language of bebop, the modern jazz of yester-year from which sprang almost all of today’s modern jazz. Art Granatstein, a member of the New Jazz Society, a modest group for jazz maniacs which enjoyed a short but fruitful life, related how the artists were hired: they looked for them one weekend in New York and one after another, they signed voluntarily, Parker for 200 dollars, Gillespie for 450, Bud Powell for 500, Max Roach and Charles Mingus for 150. Dick Wattam, the society’s president added that they had to run after them all over Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and that they couldn’t sleep for three days. Whereas drummer Max Roach recalled how Charlie Parker turned up just before the concert and immediately downed three whiskeys. On the very same evening a highly important boxing match was held, the confrontation between heavy-weights Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott. This televised sports event shadowed the concert and Massey Hall was two-thirds empty, 700 tickets sold for 2500 seats.

As Roach remembered, the choice of pieces was easy, they had dug in the standard repertory of Harlem, which only proved slightly hard for bassist Charles Mingus who had recently settled in New York, coming from California. In fact, the ‘Quintet’ reunited these five legendary musicians for the last time. On the 15 May, they didn’t mind, and probably weren’t aware of the fact. It was just one more gig, with a boozed pianist and Charlie Parker far from being sober, playing a plastic saxophone borrowed from a corner shop, whereas Gillespie, on fine form, kept messing about and slipping off backstage to follow the boxing match. And, thank goodness, with a furious Mingus appalled at the behaviour of his fellow artists, who threatened Parker to leave stage and who, at the end of the concert, hardly satisfied with the quality of the recording – as it was he who immortalised the encounter with his own material – almost effaced the tape. Luckily he did no such thing, and even attempted to improve the balance by further recording the bass afterwards. Which didn’t help the original sound of the band. Thankfully, here we can appreciate the sound as it was recorded before alteration. And above all, we can enjoy sublime music. Despite the none too propitious conditions, these prodigious musicians offer some breath-taking moments which we could never tire of. This new issue gives astonishing freshness to this occasion.

Rezensionen

R. Thomas in Jazzthetik 12/04 - 1/05: "Quintet of the Century" wäre wohl ein passenderer Titel, denn diese Auf- nahme genießt unter Jazzfans einen Ruf wie Donnerhall. Was Francis Dreyfus hier klangtechnisch und repertoire- mäßig restauriert hat, kommt einem Wunder gleich! The "Greatest Jazz Concert Ever", so oder ähnlich hießen die Bootlegs dieser Konzertaufnahme, die für viele schlicht der beste Jazzgig aller Zeiten ist. Hier gibt´s nur eins: zugreifen!" S. Thielmann in stereoplay 2/05: "Trotz aller Politur tönt die Aufnahme - an heutigen Maßstäben gemessen - über weite Strecken immer noch grausig. Musikalisch aber geht die Post ab, waren doch Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus und Max Roach am 15. Mai 1953 in Toronto in absoluter Topform."