SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHARLIE PARKER, DIZZY GILLESPIE, BUD POWELL, CHARLES MINGUS, & MAX ROACH – HOT HOUSE: THE COMPLETE JAZZ AT MASSEY HALL RECORDINGS

CHARLIE PARKER, DIZZY GILLESPIE, BUD POWELL, CHARLES MINGUS, & MAX ROACH
HOT HOUSE: THE COMPLETE JAZZ AT MASSEY HALL RECORDINGS
CRAFT RECORDINGS

Billed as the greatest jazz performance ever, the ensemble of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach at Toronto’s Massey Hall was overshadowed by heavyweight championship fight between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott. Their 1953 performance would be immortalized with the essential The Quintette: Jazz At Massey Hall, released later that year. Now, for the 70^th anniversary of the monumental recording, Craft Records has reissued the album releasing their performance in its entirety for the very first time, along with a collection of material featuring bass overdubs to account for the quieter tone of the original recording.

The album opens with the Latin rhythms and fanfare of “Perdido”. There is a gentle, welcoming sway before the band jumps into the breakneck, bebop pace of “Salt Peanuts”, something which is performed immaculately. “All The Things You Are/52^nd Street Theme” blend seamlessly while playing off each other in both style and mood, with the former expressing a sense of longing while the latter, a brief but rapid swing. It demonstrates the band’s repertoire and ability to add a bebop flair to relatively simple standard. The remainder of the first disc does not disappoint with “Wee (Allen’s Alley)”, “Hot House”, and “A Night In Tunisia”. The closing two tracks, especially, are exceptional. With their mid-tempo swing, the double speed solos cut through as each soloist plays with rhythm, melodicism, and fills. In particular, Parker’s solos during “Hot House” and Gillespie’s during “A Night In Tunisia” are masterful.

The third disc of Hot House collects all the material from disc one, with the addition of bass overdubs, giving the first half of the performance a more rounded and warmer sound with a greater presence from Mingus, making it superior to that of the original. Disc two, interestingly, features a performance from The Powell, Mingus, and Roach Trio from that same night. While the contributions of Parker and Gillespie are certainly missed, there is no denying the greatness of this trio. From the riveting drum solo that is “Drum Conversation” – Roach just makes the kit sing like no other through dynamics, rhythmic modulation, and percussive melodies  – to the lyrical flow of “Embraceable You”, with a stellar performance from Powell, and the brisk “Cherokee”, once again, staring Roach, the performance from this trio in no less that that of the first half of the record, and demonstrates a deeper versatility from Powell, Mingus, and Roach as their ability to perform in a support role as a tight rhythm section to leading presences as a trio is amazing.

A jazz concert of this caliber truly is a rarity. Often, as a means of making tours as lucrative as possible, bandleaders would tour with lesser artists, or young artists who had yet to make a name for themselves. Considering that Parker, Gillespie, Powell, Mingus, and Roach were all band leaders – artists of truly legendary status and musicality – such a bill was hard to come by, let alone for it to be recorded in such high quality. This is part of what makes Hot House such an incredible release. When you factor the high degree of musicianship and chemistry within this band, what you have is a once in a lifetime moment, captured in full and unabridged. While it is impossible to say if this is actually the greatest jazz performance ever, there is something magical about this performance that allows for it to stand strongly against some of the best live jazz recordings of all time.

Craft Recordings Links