Fantastic 1963 concert
Michael St John | St. Paul, MN | 11/21/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The band from the SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW album is documented here at the '63 Newport Festival. Diz works in a couple old favorites (a smoking "Dizzy Atmosphere," James Moody's feature "I'm in the Mood for Love," and "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?"), Tom McIntosh's new "The Cup Bearers" from the album mentioned, some Brazilian tunes that reflect the pop taste of the moment, and a "Salt Peanuts" which Jon Hendricks reworks into a Presidential campaign song for Diz. Everyone is in a great spirits, and you can hear Diz cut up between a few numbers for the audience's amusement. There's a particularly funny exchange between Diz and Moody about whether he can say "BLACK Orpheus" on stage. "Excuse the expression," Dizzy teases. Moody chides him: "You can say BLACK! It's OK--Malcolm told me!" Diz shoots back, "Everything must be COOOL, if Malcolm says it's OK!"The high spirits carry over into the performances, so the music all sounds wonderful as well. The sound fidelity is exceptionally good for an informal live recording from '63. Kudos to Douglas Music for the fine HDCD remastering work. I look forward to Verve reissuing more of Dizzy's work from this period, like NEW WAVE, THE NEW CONTINENT, and DIZZY ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA. Until that happens, this concert is an especially valuable document of this band in action. Get it while you still can."
Fast, Fearless and Fun
A. Blasko | Arlington VA | 01/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This recording truly captures the spirit of Dizzy in concert at the height of his powers. It's fast, fearless and fun. In between some amazing tunes, there's some comedy ("Yeah, Malcolm told me," "Orpheus De Negro" and his intro to "I'm In The Mood for Love" crack me up every time.) You can't help but feel good when listening to this.
Diz does some great work with standards such as "Dizzy Atmosphere" and "Salt Peanuts." And I challenge anyone to sit still when they listen to his wonderful (and alas too short) version of "Desifinado."
And as Dizzy said himself, Mr. James Moody was in rare form in this performance with some great solos. He works very well with Diz and the rest of the group here. And he hits it out of the park with his "I'm In The Mood for Love," of course.
The title of this CD refers to Dizzy's half-hearted, semi-serious gonzo run for the White House in the 1960s. Had he won, I don't know if he would have been a good president. But I do know we would have had a hell of a lot of fun. This CD captures that fun nicely.
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Track Listings (8) - Disc #1