Jazz / Bop, Swing
Benny Carter Sax (Alto)
Benny Green Liner Notes
Bobby Durham
Clark Terry Trumpet
Count Basie Piano
David Luke Remixing
Dizzy Gillespie Trumpet
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Ella Fitzgerald Vocals
Eric Miller Compilation Producer
Gilles Margerin Design
Jamie Putnam Art Direction
Joe Pass Guitar
John Timperley Engineer
Johnny Griffin Sax (Tenor)
Keter Betts Bass
Louie Bellson Drums
Mickey Roker Drums
Milt Jackson Vibraphone
Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen Bass
Norman Granz Liner Notes, Producer
Oscar Peterson Piano
Paul Beattie Engineer
Roy Eldridge Trumpet
Tommy Flanagan Piano
Tony Lane Photography
Toots Thielemans Harmonica
Zoot Sims Sax (Tenor)
For three days in 1975 producer Norman Granz largely took over the Montreux Jazz Festival and recorded nearly everything; he had a similar arrangement with the 1977 edition. This double-LP (whose contents have mostly not been reissued yet on CD) has music from nine different groups ranging from unaccompanied solos by guitarist Joe Pass and pianist Oscar Peterson to an octet. Just listing the all-star performers should be enough to water the mouths of most straightahead jazz fans. In addition to Pass and Peterson there are trumpeters Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie, tenors Johnny Griffin, Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, altoist Benny Carter, Toots Thielemans on harmonica, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianists Oscar Peterson, Count Basie and Tommy Flanagan, bassists Niels Pedersen and Keter Betts and drummers Louie Bellson, Mickey Roker and Bobby Durham plus Ella Fitzgerald sings "The Man I Love." The music is essentially standards and blues but the classic musicians come up with enough surprises in their solos to hold one's interest throughout. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Jazz at the Philharmonic
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Swing, Standards
In 1944, producer Norman Granz organized a concert billed as "Jazz at the Philharmonic" (also JATP) as a fundraiser in Los Angeles. The event, which was recorded, featured Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea, J.J. Johnson, Shorty Sherock, and a rhythm section with Nat King Cole and Les Paul; Jacquet's playing in particular caused a bit of a sensation. After a few more similar events, Granz in 1946 began organizing extensive annual tours using classic swing and bop musicians in a jam-session setting. Although some critics often complained that these events encouraged grandstanding (R&B honking was getting popular during the era), a great deal of rewarding and exciting music resulted, and Granz recorded (and later released) much of it on his Verve label. He paid his musicians very well and did his best to fight racism every bit of the way. Among JATP's stars through the years were tenors Flip Phillips (whose solo on "Perdido" became famous), Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Stan Getz; trumpeters Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, Dizzy Gillespie, and Harry "Sweets" Edison; trombonists Bill Harris and Tommy Turk; altoists Charlie Parker, Willie Smith, and Benny Carter; pianists Hank Jones and Oscar Peterson; a variety of bassists (often Ray Brown); and drummers Louie Bellson, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich. Ella Fitzgerald started touring with JATP early on, usually having her own separate set and joining in on a finale, and later tours often also included performances by regular groups such as the Oscar Peterson Trio, Gene Krupa's combo, Stuff Smith, or Lester Young. After 1957, the annual tours stopped, although there was an attempt to revive JATP in 1967; and Granz kept the spirit of Jazz at the Philharmonic alive on his many jam session-type records for Pablo in the 1970s.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
