Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Mickey Roker

In the autumnal phase of his recording career, Dizzy Gillespie was reunited with Jazz At The Philharmonic producer Norman Granz for a series of finely crafted recordings on his Pablo label (so named because Granz financed the label by selling off some of his valuable Picassos).

These later recordings are often mistakenly undervalued by critics, despite their superb production values, dynamic acoustic sound, and generally provocative mix of players and musical materials. DIZZY'S BIG 4 is one of the very best, featuring a dream team rhythm section that responds to all of Gillespie's virtuoso challenges, and then some. Ray Brown is one of the all-time greats, who startled the jazz world when he first emerged as Dizzy's bassist while still in his teens; drummer Mickey Roker is a commanding percussionist and long-time Gillespie collaborator, while guitarist Joe Pass is a stellar virtuoso, with a series of excellent recitals of his own on Pablo.

Gillespie is in a particularly puckish mood on these sessions. Where the youthful Gillespie might have ordinarily opted for more of the bravura pyrotechnics, represented herein by the relentlessly uptempo changes of "Be Bop (Dizzy's Fingers)," DIZZY'S BIG 4 is distinguished by the ballads "Hurry Home," "Russian Lullaby" and "September Song." Here the trumpeter's rich timbral shadings plumb deep new meaning from these familiar melodies. Most impressive is Dizzy's depth and range as a blues player, which further enlivens his improvisations on Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," his own latin styled funk on "Frelimo" and the hard bopping "Birks Works."

Tracklisting:
1.Frelimo 8:06 (Gillespie)
2.Hurry Home 6:20 (Meyer/Emmerich/Bernier)
3.Russian Lullaby 6:46 (I. Berlin)
4.Be Bop (Dizzy's Fingers) 4:26 (Gillespie)
5.Birks Works 8:48 (Dizzy Gillespie)
6.September Song 2:45 (M. Anderson/K. Weill)
7.Jitterbug Waltz 6:49 (Fats Waller)

Personnel:
Dizzy Gillespie t
Joe Pass g
Ray Brown b
Mickey Roker d

Recorded at Cherokee Recording Studios, Hollywood, California on September 17 & 19, 1974. Originally released on Pablo (2310-719). Produced by Norman Granz.Includes liner notes by Benny Green.
Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the A. C. Jobim Songbook (1981)

Ella Abraça Jobim or Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook is a 1981 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, devoted to the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.

It was reissued on CD in 1991 (found here), although the CD version does not include the songs "Don't Ever Go Away" and "Song of the Jet".

Though it is subtitled as such, this album is not usually considered part of Fitzgerald's 'Songbook' series, the last of the 'Songbook' albums having been recorded in 1964.

It was Fitzgerald's first album of music devoted to a single composer since 1972's Ella Loves Cole, and it was her only album recorded entirely in the Bossa Nova style, though she had been singing Jobim's songs since the mid 1960's.

Fitzgerald never worked with Antonio Carlos Jobim, though she appeared alongside Frank Sinatra for a 1967 television special that also featured Jobim.

Ella Abraça Jobim translates (with a pun) as 'She Hugs Jobim' (Ela Abraça Jobim) in Portuguese.

Track listing

1. "Somewhere in the Hills" (Favela) (Vinícius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert) – 3:56
2. "The Girl from Ipanema" (de Moraes, Norman Gimbel) – 3:50
3. "Dindi" (Ray Gilbert, Aloysio Oliveira) – 6:37
4. "Desafinado" (Off Key) (Jesse Cavanaugh, Jon Hendricks, Newton Mendonça) – 3:41
5. "Water to Drink" (de Moraes, Gimbel) – 2:44
6. "Dreamer (Vivo Sonhando)" (Gene Lees) – 4:55
7. "Corcovado" (Lees) – 5:40
8. "Bonita" (Gilbert, Lees) – 2:50
9. "One Note Samba" (Mendonça, Hendricks) – 3:51
10. "Don't Ever Go Away (Por Causa de Voce)" (Gilbert, Dolores Duran) - 2:52
11. "Triste" – 4:07
12. "How Insensitive" (de Moraes, Gimbel) – 3:00
13. "He's a Carioca (Ele É Carioca)" (de Moraes, Gilbert) – 5:14
14. "This Love That I've Found (Só Tinha de Ser Com Você)" (Oliveira) – 5:17
15. "A Felicidade" (de Moraes) – 2:19
16. "Wave" – 5:22
17. "Song of the Jet (Samba Do Avião)" (Lees) – 3:40
18. "Photograph" (Fotografia) (Gilbert) – 3:49
19. "Useless Landscape (Inútil Paisagem)" (Gilbert, Oliveira) – 7:59

All songs composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyricists indicated.

Personnel

Recorded September 17-19, 1980, March 18-20, 1981 Hollywood, Los Angeles:

* Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
* Clark Terry - Trumpet
* Zoot Sims - Tenor Saxophone
* Toots Thielemans - Harmonica
* Henry Trotter - Keyboard
* Mike Lang
* Clarence McDonald
* Joe Pass - Guitar
* Oscar Castro-Neves
* Paul Jackson
* Mitch Holder
* Ronald Bautiste
* Abraham Laboriel - Double Bass
* Alex Acuña - Drums
* Paulinho da Costa - Percussion

Pablo records, 1981