Jazz at Massey Hall

by Charlie Parker

Overview

This concert was held at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada on May 15, 1953, and was recorded by bassist Charles Mingus, who overdubbed some additional bass parts and issued it on his own Debut label as the Quintet's Jazz at Massey Hall. Charlie Parker (listed on the original album sleeve as "Charlie Chan") performed on a plastic alto, pianist Bud Powell was stone drunk from the opening bell, and Dizzy Gillespie kept popping offstage to check on the status of the first Rocky Marciano-Jersey Joe Walcott heavyweight championship bout. Subsequent editions of this evening were released as a double live album (featuring Bud Powell's magnificent piano trio set with Mingus and Roach), dubbed The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever. The hyperbole is well-deserved, because at the time of this concert, each musician on Jazz at Massey Hall was considered to be the principle instrumental innovator within the bebop movement. All of these musicians were influenced by Charlie Parker, and their collective rapport is magical. As a result, their fervent solos on the uptempo tunes ("Salt Peanuts" and "Wee") seem to flow like one uninterrupted idea. "All The Things You Are" redefines Jerome Kern's classic ballad, with frequent echoes of "Grand Canyon Suite" from Bird and Diz, and a ruminative solo by Powell. And on Gillespie's classic "Night in Tunisia," the incomparable swagger of Bird's opening break is matched by the keening emotional intensity of Gillespie's daredevil flight. A legendary set, no matter how or when or where it's issued.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2018
Label:	Intermusic / Wax Time
UPC:	8436559464581
Rank:	33008

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Charlie Parker   Primary Artist,Sax (Alto)
Max Roach   Primary Artist,Drums,Soloist
Bud Powell Trio   Primary Artist
Charles Mingus   Bass
Dizzy Gillespie   Trumpet
Bud Powell   Piano
Billy Taylor   Piano

Technical Credits

Charles Mingus   Composer
Tadd Dameron   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Ray Noble   Composer
Kenny Clarke   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Frank Paparelli   Composer
Dizzy Gillespie   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Denzil Best   Composer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Max Roach   Composer
Thelonious Monk   Composer
Bud Powell   Composer
George Shearing   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Bill Coss   Liner Notes,Original Liner Notes
X   Photography
Hans Lengsfelder   Composer
Esther Shore   Liner Notes
Stephen Davis   Liner Notes