Diz and Getz [Remastered]

Read About This Recording

Dizzy Gillespie was always quite competitive, having battled other trumpeters successfully in jam sessions in the 1940s. He was in a particularly combative mood on May 25, 1954 when he recorded Diz and Getz with tenor-saxophonist Stan Getz, pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Max Roach. While Getz always had a soft cool tone, he was not the type of player who would shy away from a challenge, so, with Peterson pushing the rhythm section, plenty of sparks fly. It Don't Mean A Thing, Impromptu and Siboney are each taken at roaring tempos, with the two horns playing off each other and sounding quite inspiring. There are also a couple ballads (I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart and It's The Talk Of The Town), swinging versions of Exactly Like You and Girl Of My Dreams, and a version of Gillespie's One Alone from a completely different session with tenor-saxophonist Hank Mobley. But it is for the interplay between Dizzy, Getz and Peterson that this set is highly recommended.

-Scott Yanow

Product Info

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Extended Article

Don't tell Oscar Peterson that providing support on Duke Ellington's classic tune at this session didn't mean a thing. Dizzy really wanted a piece of Stan Getz bad that day, Peterson recalls. It was a kick to see them go after each other ... Dizzy was out for blood. He wanted to take advantage of somebody, and I decided it wasn't going to be me.

Yet at this great convocation, Dizzy Gillespie's fire and Stan Getz's ice take in a lot of territory, including a great Afro-Cuban melody, Siboney - on which Diz heats things up in Part 1 and then Getz cools them off in Part 2.

Contents

It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing); I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart; Exactly Like You; It's The Talk Of The Town; Impromptu; One Alone; Girl Of My Dreams; Siboney (Parts 1 & 2).

Dizzy Gillespie, Trumpet; Stan Getz, Hank Mobley, Tenor Saxes; Wade Legge, Oscar Peterson, Pianos; Herb Ellis, Guitar; Lou Hackney, Ray Brown, Bass; Charlie Persip, Max Roach, Drums.