Dizzy Gillespie: An Amazing Solo from 1944

Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) is certainly one of the most famous jazz artists. Yet it is rare to see anybody discussing and studying specific Gillespie solos. Until about 1945, he worked mostly as a sideperson in the bands of such leaders as Cab Calloway and Billy Eckstine, as you can see in this complete annotated listing by the late Jan Evensmo. I’d like to focus today on a remarkable solo that Dizzy created with the septet of bassist John Kirby. This happened on a radio broadcast in May 1944 from the Aquarium Restaurant that once existed at 711 Seventh Avenue in Times Square.

The group consisted of Dizzy Gillespie (tp), Buster Bailey (cl), George Johnson (as), Ben Webster (ts), probably Clyde Hart (p), John Kirby (b, dir), and Bill Beason (dm). (During the few weeks that Dizzy was in the group there were some personnel changes, and some sources say that Ram Ramirez was on piano.) At the end of the broadcast they played “Rose Room,” a 32-bar song with an ABAC form, which was by that time a well-known “standard.” In fact, Gillespie had played with the Ellington band for about a month in October and November 1943, and around that time the band was still playing “Rose Room.” The band’s book also contained Duke’s “In A Mellotone” (that’s how it was spelled on the original 78rpm labels), which is based on the same chords. So Dizzy surely had experience playing on this song.

You’ll hear Buster, Dizzy, and George Johnson. As Johnson begins, the announcer talks over him to say that they must end. (That host is the legendary Barry Gray on the Mutual Broadcasting System.) During the last few seconds, Ben Webster begins his solo, but the broadcast ends Let’s listen:

All the musicians are excellent, but when Dizzy plays, Wow! What just happened!? Dizzy’s entire solo has a remarkable brilliance and clarity of tone and execution that makes it stand out. He starts at 0:46 with a double-time feel that immediately kicks up the energy level. The upward lick at 1:05 comes from, I think, the lick at 0:50 in “It’s Sand, Man,” a tune by trumpeter Buck Clayton that Count Basie recorded in 1942. Just after that, at 1:08, just before the second A, the band breaks and Dizzy alone plays a version of his famous triplet lick. At 1:15 he plays and repeats a turn that has a kind of swagger to it. From 1:21 on, he ends his solo with a long, unbroken, complex line that ends perfectly on beat one of the next measure! At that point the band calmly proceeds as though nothing special had occurred, and the radio announcer comes on to end the broadcast.

But I’m amazed that they’re not all standing there with their mouths open. What a brilliant, original, and spectacular improvisation!

All the best,
Lewis

P.S. Thank you to James Accardi for improving the audio quality for us.