Dizzy Gillespie
Horn Of Plenty
In the spring of 1952, as modern jazz continued to spread across Europe, Dizzy Gillespie returned to Paris already established as one of the central figures of modern music. The city had largely ignored him when, barely twenty years old, he first arrived in Europe with Teddy Hill's orchestra in 1937. But Paris could no longer ignore him during his second visit, in February 1948, when he caused one of the greatest upheavals jazz had ever known by unleashing the explosive force of his bebop big band upon an audience still largely unprepared for it. Whether through that brief but unforgettable adventure or through his decisive role in shaping the entire language of bebop, Dizzy's contribution ensured that jazz would never be the same again. His name had by then joined that small circle of fundamental figures who altered the course of jazz history.
When he returned to Europe in 1952 to appear at the Paris Salon du Jazz — his third trip to the continent — memories of the triumphs of his big band four years earlier were still deeply etched in the minds of French jazz enthusiasts. But the context had changed. The big band itself already belonged to the past, and bebop had moved beyond the shock of its first youthful explosion. Dizzy still had bop, but he also had roots: his style was beginning to mature into a broader synthesis, an amalgam of all his musical experience that hinted at a new kind of modern classicism.
It was in this atmosphere that Gillespie led a flexible Paris-based group including tenor saxophonist Don Byas, pianist Arnold Ross, and several French musicians such as Hubert and Raymond Fol, Pierre Michelot, and Pierre Lemarchand. The sessions — held on March 27 and April 11 at Parisian studios such as Jouvenet and the Schola Cantorum — were recorded for the Blue Star label, distributed by Vogue, which at the time was actively documenting the presence of major American jazz soloists in the French capital.
A year later, Blue Note Records, always alert to high-quality jazz being recorded outside the United States, acquired the American release rights to part of those recordings. Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff decided to include them in their 10-inch LP "5000 series", devoted to modern jazz in compact format. The result was Horn Of Plenty (BLP 5017), released in 1953 with eight performances combining standards such as "Sweet Lorraine", "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams", and "Somebody Loves Me" with more recent pieces like "Afro-Paris".
Unlike most Blue Note productions of the period, there was no New York recording session and no direct supervision by Lion or Wolff; the material was licensed entirely from the French masters. This also explains the album's distinctive sound and the presence of European musicians throughout several of the performances. Blue Note issued the album with its characteristic graphic design but without liner notes, perhaps because the label had not participated directly in the recording process and lacked complete session details.
In retrospect, Horn of Plenty stands as a singular document within both Dizzy Gillespie's and Blue Note's catalogs: an early example of transatlantic collaboration that demonstrated the vitality of bebop far beyond its original birthplace. These Paris sessions captured Gillespie at a moment of artistic transition — more relaxed and reflective, surrounded by French colleagues and removed from the pressures of the big-band world — at a time when his music had already begun to assume an international dimension.
Cut in Paris a year ago, these were made at two dates. The numbers with four horns (Diz, Don Byas, Hubert Fol, Bill Tamper) have a French rhythm section (Raymond Fol, Pierre Michelot, Pierre Lemarchand); titles with smaller group have an American rhythm section (Arnold Ross, Joe Benjamin, Bill Clark). Lady Bird is the only title to make full use of an arrangement and of the French soloists (Hubert sounds like a boppish Benny Carter, Tamper like a Bill Harris).
Although there are minor flaws (Dizzy's lip falters here and there; the rhythm section is logy on the last title) the overall impression is highly favorable. Rejecting comedy for the nonce, Diz played fine, sincere horn with true emotional content and melodic value. His one slow chorus on Lorraine, three choruses on Somebody and muted work on the fast, exciting minor Afro are especially effective. Don Byas is all over the place too, sounding like old times.
*Down Beat, Chicago, March 11, 1953 [5 stars]*
Side 1
1 - Sweet Lorraine
(Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell)
2 - Lady Bird
(Tadd Dameron)
3 - Hurry Home
(Buddy Bernier, Romert D. Emmerich, Joseph Meyer)
4 - Afro Paris
(Billy Taylor)
Side 2
5 - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(Harry Barris, Ted Koehler, Billy Moll)
6 - She's Funny That Way
(Neil Moret, Richard Whiting)
7 - Somebody Loves Me
(George Gershwin, Buddy G. De Sylva, Ballard MacDonald)
8 - Everything Happens To Me
(Matt Denis, Tom Adair)
#3, #4:
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Don Byas (tenor sax), Arnold Ross (piano),
Joe Benjamin (bass), Bill Clark (drums), Umberto Canto (congas).
Recorded at Studio Jouvenet, Paris, France, March 27, 1952
#1, #2, #5, #6, #7, #8:
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Bill Tamper (trombone),
Hubert Fol (alto sax), Don Byas (tenor sax),
Raymond Fol (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Pierre Lemarchand (drums)
Recortded at the auditorium of the Schola Cantorum, Paris, France, April 11, 1952
✤✤✤✤
For those who prefer the digital versions of these recordings, the material originally issued by Blue Note as Horn of Plenty can be found in the second of the two volumes Vogue devoted to documenting Dizzy Gillespie's Parisian stay in 1952 and 1953. While this volume gathers the studio sessions recorded for the French label, the other focuses on the live performances documented during those same European visits.
The Vogue edition also offers several advantages over the original Blue Note LP: not only does it include performances omitted from Horn of Plenty, but also a number of alternate takes later recovered from the French archives. In this way, the listener gains access to a far more complete picture of Dizzy's Paris period, both in the studio and on stage.
Dizzy Gillespie
In Paris • Volume 2
Recording opportunities were not lacking for Dizzy and Vogue lured him into the studios twice within barely a fortnight. He recorded a total of twelve titles and included here are four previously unissued alternate takes. The first session took place on March 27th 1952 with Dizzy backed by the trio then accompanying Lena Horne at the Lido. Giving the main support was the very man who had been his fellow quintet member at the Onyx Club in 1944, tenor saxophonist (and now European resident) Don Byas. Afro Paris and Say Eh belong to Dizzy's Afro-bop and "oo-bop-sha-boo" side, while Hurry Home and I Cover the Waterfront are handled in a sober classical ballad style while still bringing endless unmistakably bop turns and inflections.
The April 11th session finds Dizzy playing with an open, vibrant and rich sound throughout, backed by Hubert Fol's prestigious quartet, with trombonist Bill Tamper and Don Byas mainly present to strengthen the ensemble voices. The programme opens with the erroneously titled Cripple Crapple Crutch, a dragging blues which Dizzy was to perform throughout the rest of his career. "I wouldn't give a blind sow an acorn, wouldn't give a cripple crab a crutch", he sings, and you can't get much crueller than that! Dizzy Song, Somebody Loves Me and Wrap Your Troubles (the latter in two takes) are taken at brisk medium tempos, while the other four titles are slow ballads which allow Dizzy to expand truly magnificently.
The following year Dizzy returned to Europe, this time with his own quintet and singer Joe Carroll. For the February 22nd 1953 Vogue studio session, whose eight titles include Joe Carroll's vibrant vocal on Clappin' Rhythm issued here for the first time, Nat Peck's trombone replaces Bill Graham's baritone saxophone. Dizzy again plays open throughout and produces some of the most fabulous trumpet solos one could wish to hear. This session has humour (the tongue-in-cheek quality of Always, 'S Wonderful and even Mon homme), bop surrealism in Joe Carroll's Oo-Bla-Dee, beauty (Moon Nocturne, This Is the Way), blues (Watch Out) and a constant natural swing. In short: excellent music, still completely contemporary forty years later.
*Don Waterhouse (from the liner notes)*
1 - Afro Paris
(Billy Taylor)
2 - Afro Paris
(Billy Taylor)
3 - Hurry Home
(Buddy Bernier, Romert D. Emmerich, Joseph Meyer)
4 - Hurry Home
(Buddy Bernier, Romert D. Emmerich, Joseph Meyer)
5 - Say Eh
(Dizzy Gillespie)
6 - Say Eh
(Dizzy Gillespie)
7 - I Cover the Waterfront
(Johnny Green, Edward Heyman)
8 - You Ain't Such a Much
(Pleasant Joseph)
9 - Dizzy Song (Lady Bird)
(Tadd Dameron)
10 - Somebody Loves Me
(George Gershwin, Buddy G. De Sylva, Ballard MacDonald)
11 - She's Funny That Way
(Neil Moret, Richard Whiting)
12 - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(Harry Barris, Ted Koehler, Billy Moll)
13 - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(Harry Barris, Ted Koehler, Billy Moll)
14 - Sweet Lorraine
(Mitchell Parish, Cliff Burwell)
15 - Everything Happens to Me
(Matt Denis, Tom Adair)
16 - I Don't Know Why
(Roy Turk, Fred E. Ahlert)
17 - Always
(Irving Berlin)
18 - Mon Homme
(Maurice Yvain, Albert Willemetz)
19 - Clappin Rhythm
(Dizzy Gillespie)
20 - Fais Gaffe (Watch Out)
(Dizzy Gillespie)
21 - Moon Nocturne
(Nathaniel Shilkret)
22 - This Is the Way
(Dizzy Gillespie)
23 - 'S Wonderful
(George Gershwin)
24 - Oo-Bla-Dee
(Mary Lou Williams, Milt Orent)
Note:
The recording locations on the artwork are incomplete or incorrect
and are added to, or corrected, below:
#1 to #7:
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet, vocal), Don Byas (tenor sax), Arnold Ross (piano),
Joe Benjamin (bass), Bill Clark (drums), Umberto Canto (congas).
Recorded at Studio Jouvenet, Paris, France, March 27, 1952
#8 to #16:
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet, vocal), Bill Tamper (trombone), Hubert Fol (alto sax),
Don Byas (tenor sax), Raymond Fol (piano),
Pierre Michelot (bass), Pierre Lemarchand (drums).
Recortded at the auditorium of the Schola Cantorum, Paris, France, April 11, 1952
#17 to #24:
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet, vocal [#19]), Nat Peck (trombone), Wade Legge (piano),
Lou Hackney (bass), Al Jones (drums), Joe Carroll (vocal [#24]).
Recorded at Studio Rex, Paris, France, February 22, 1953
