Dizzy Gillespie's Milestones in Jazz

The CD I chose to review is Dizzy Gillespie's Milestones in Jazz. It is a combination of Gillespie's recordings from 1952 and 1961. The song I chose to concentrate specifically upon is Groovin' High. The song is written in 32 AABA form. It is representative of the be-bop era, and was recorded in 1952. The song opens with an introduction in a fairly fast-paced tempo. The trumpet and alto sax play a little preview of the melody while the high-hat gradually increases in dynamic, easing into the piece. The first part A consists of the trumpet and alto sax playing the melody. The drummer keeps time on the ride cymbal and hits the high-hat on beats two and four. The bass player plays walking bass lines throughout. In the second part A, the tenor sax takes over the melody, while the percussionist steadily taps the ride cymbal (no high-hat here). At the very end of this part of the song, Gillespie interjects with a trumpet solo break, which leads directly into part B. The trumpet improvisation continues throughout part B, again accompanied by the ride cymbal and filler percussion. The walking bass lines are still keeping the beat at this point. During the last part A, the alto player solos for another 32 bars, and the high-hat cymbal returns on beats two and four.
During the first part A of the second phase of the song, the trombone plays for the first time. After a short solo, the trumpet joins the trombone. They then proceed to engage in a call-and-response improvisational session. In the second part A, the trombone and trumpet continue to take solos and play call-and-response lines. In part B, the pianist takes a 32 bar solo. At the end of the solo, the percussionist leads back into the melody with a riff. During the final part A, the alto sax and trumpet return to the original melody at the beginning of the song. Following this segment, the piece drops into half time, and the trumpet plays another solo to close the song.
The musicians generally confirmed the instrumental roles discussed in class. Both the trumpet and the alto saxophone played only melodic lines and solos and were constantly on the frontline with the most exposure. The percussionist kept time on the ride cymbal and occasionally punctuated beats two and four on the high-hat. The pianist played a lengthy solo, and the bass player played walking bass lines to keep the beat throughout the entire piece. The only musician who somewhat contradicted the ideas of instrumental roles discussed in class was the trombonist, who got a sizeable solo and did not hide under the melody or play strictly complimentary parts.
After listening to the entire CD, I found that I really enjoyed nearly all aspects of the music, most of which I had not noted previous to taking this class. I really noticed the smoothness of Gillespie's tone; the languid, sensual vibrato and mellow, warm sound lend a very romantic sound to his ballads. I particularly enjoy the slow cadenzas in which he really takes his time and moves fluidly from note to note- it sounds effortless. In several of the songs, particularly Manteca, Gillespie's impressive range and technical ability becomes very apparent. During many of the songs, the trumpet and the sax play call-and-response lines and take turns playing the melody. I love this, because even though the two instruments have a completely different sound, the technical skill and marvelous tones of the players make the music sound like it is being improved upon with every play. It is comparable to listening to the same sentence in two different dialects of the same language. It almost makes you hear the music more clearly, as if you've heard it in every possible sense. I like the growling sound Gillespie uses in Birks Works. It makes the music sound very primal and earthy. My favorite songs are the ones where Gillespie plays slow solos over quarter walking bass and keyboard notes. It sounds like old lounge jazz and reminds me of old love stories (and makes me want to drink wine!). I also really admire the frequent, unexpected tempo changes in the music. They add character and demonstrate rhythmic maturity.
The few things I did not enjoy included the random vocal outbursts that appeared every now and then. In Tin Tin Deo, they make the song sound unprofessional and distract from the great musicianship of the players. I also don't like it when the piano hits chromatically adjacent notes simultaneously. It is hard on the ear and contrasts too greatly with the mellowness of most of the CD. However, these are only two things out of many that I did not enjoy. Overall, studying Gillespie's CD so closely was a very pleasurable, broadening experience.