The 1st of these two albums is Showtime at the Spotlite,
an album that was initially released in 1946
after being recorded at a live show on 52nd
Street in New York City. This 2-disc recording
features the following tracks:

Disc 1: 1. Shaw ‘Nuff / I Waited For You 2. Our Delight 3. Groovin’ High 4. The Man I Love 5. Ray’s Idea 6. Cool Breeze 7. Oo Bop Sh’Bam 8. ‘Round Midnight 9. Second Balcony Jump 10. Day By Day 11. Convulsions 12. Woody ‘n You 13. Lazy Mood 14. One Bass Hit 15. Things To Come 16. I Waited For You

Showtime At The Spotlite (Get at Amazon.com)

Disc 2: 1. Shaw ‘Nuff / I Waited For You 2. Our Delight 3. Second Balcony Jump 4. Things To Come 5. The Man I Love (Incomplete) 6. Intermission: Don’t Blame Me 7. Grosvenor Square 8. One Bass Hit 9. Things To Come 10. I Waited For You

This rare recording represents the 1st generation of Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band legacy. It features an all-star cast, including Thelonious Monk, Ray Brown, Kenny Clarke,James Moody and Milt Jackson to name a few. SHOWTIME AT THE SPOTLITE is a priceless documentation of great musical genius at a special moment, superbly captured in live performance. Both innovative and a lot of fun, this is Dizzy Gillespie straight-on telling the world where it’s at. The album was re-released Sept. 1st, 2008.

The 2nd album was re-released August 5th this year and offers a digital remastering of The Cool World Of Dizzy Gillespie. The original album was released back in April of 1964 and features the trumpeter’s interpretations of the score of the obscure film “The Cool World” – although these tracks were not heard in the film. This album, in particular, has music historians thinking twice and digging deeper to see what else can be found among Dizzy’s “buried stash.”

Tracks included on this album:

1. Theme From The Cool World
2. The Pushers
3. Enter, Priest
4. Duke’s Awakening
5. Duke On The Run
6. Street Music
7. Bonnie’s Blues
8. Coney Island
9. Duke’s Fantasy
10. Coolie
11. Duke’s Last Soliloquy

Both of these albums are “winners” and would accent any collection. It is great that these two labels found these works and decided to give them the attention they deserve. Showtime At The Spotlite was remastered by Uptown Label, and The Cool World Of Dizzy Gillespie was produced by Verve. A blast into the past, these rare albums should be at the top of the list for Gillespie fans!

Related posts:

1. Happy Birthday Dizzy Gillespie! Alumni All Stars Performing through October 26th at the Blue Note
2. Great Jazz Christmas Albums: Your favorite music for the holidays
3. Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie – (Hot House)

The Sweet & Hot Music Festival, taking place at the LAX Marriott over Labor Day Weekend, presents a diverse lineup of excellent musicians in a family-friendly environment at affordable prices.

This year, the Festival features the likes of Ernestine Anderson, the Jack Sheldon Orchestra, Herb Jeffries, Ernie Andrews, the Jennifer Leitham Trio, and Banu Gibson, along with the world premiere of some unreleased Chet Baker recordings and an ongoing jam session in the lobby.

But with entertainment happening in eight venues within the Marriott, Sweet & Hot offers more than jazz. There’s also blues, gospel, R&B, honky-tonk, and children’s and novelty music. There’s Pianorama, hosted by Yve Evans, in which pianists are given 15 minutes each to “play his or her butt off.” There’s ballroom and swing dancing. As performer Ava DuPree puts it, “there’ll be comedy, drama, magic, the bold, the beautiful, the young, and the restless, all served up with a little vaudeville on the side.” It all happens at the LAX Marriott August 29-September 1.

[Source: www.lajazz.com]

Listen to Ernestine Anderson:

Related posts:

1. Don’t Miss The 2008 Long Beach Jazz Festival
2. Dont’ Miss Julia Fordham at Catalina Bar & Grill
3. Long Beach Blues Festival 2008 Is Coming!