"Diggin' Diz" - Dizzy Gillespie Jazzmen (1946) 🎺

At the time of this recording, Dizzy had just been named "Influencer of the Year" by Metronome magazine, which wrote in its January 1946 issue: "This [1945] was the year in which Dizzy Gillespie became the symbol of a revolution in jazz circles... Dizzy has become the central figure in a new movement of harmonic and rhythmic ingenuity, coupled with technical mastery, in jazz improvisation..."

Here, in Diz' first session for Ross Russell's newly launched Dial label as bandleader, things unfortunately did not work out as planned. Milt Jackson and Lester Young were no-shows at the session and the band only managed to record one track - and that after frequent interruptions caused by a group of fans showing up at the studio and by technical issues with faulty equipment.

It is reported that the frustrated band left in anger after recording this tune, "Diggin' Diz". They would re-record the tune as "Diggin' For Diz" two days later sans Parker but with Milt Jackson adding vibes to the mix.

All of that said, I find this recording to be a delightful listen. 🎺

0:00 Intro
0:37 Piano (Handy)
0:53 Alto sax (Parker)
1:12 Trumpet (Gillespie)
1:31 Tenor sax (Thompson)
1:50 Guitar (Garrison)
2:08 Piano (Handy)
2:27 Outro

Recorded at Electro Broadcast Studios in Glendale, California on February 5, 1946
Released as Dial 1004.

Credits (label has some errors):
Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet
Charlie Parker - alto sax
Lucky Thompson - tenor sax
George Handy - piano
Arvin Garrison - guitar
Ray Brown - bass
Stan Levey - drums

Sources:
Dizzy Gillespie Discography at JazzDisco
https://www.jazzdisco.org/dizzy-gille...
Dizzy: The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie by Donald L. Maggin, pp. 187-190.
Groovin' High - The Life of Dizzy Gillespie by Alyn Shipton