Dizzy Gillespie - Jam Montreux '77 (1977)

Tracklist

1. Girl of My Dreams
2. Get Happy
3. Medley: Once in a While/But Beautiful/Here's That Rainy Day: Once In A While / But Beautiful / Here's That Rainy Day
4. Champ, The

personnel :

Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet
Jimmie Smith - drums
Ray Brown - bass
Jon Faddis - trumpet
Milt Jackson - vibraphone
Monty Alexander - piano

It took until the mid-'70s for a trumpeter to emerge who could not only emulate Dizzy Gillespie, but display a larger range: Jon Faddis. Unfortunately, Gillespie and his protйgй barely recorded together, and this 1977 encounter at the Montreux Jazz Festival is quite disappointing. The trumpeters (plus vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist Monty Alexander, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jimmie Smith) play well enough on "Girl of My Dreams," "Get Happy," "The Champ," and a ballad medley, but there are, amazingly enough, no tradeoffs between Faddis and Gillespie (the younger trumpeter is much too respectful throughout this session), and few fireworks occur in what should have been an explosive encounter. ~ Scott Yanow