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By 1953 trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was a mainstay in the jazz world, garnering plaudits for his musicianship, bandleading, and arranging. For his premier session for Norman Granz’s Norgran record label (eventually known as Verve), producer Granz teamed him with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, the Oscar Peterson Trio (Peterson on piano, guitarist Herb Ellis, and Ray Brown on bass) plus the exceptional drummer Max Roach. The results were stunning, and there’s a noticeable joie de vivre on their rendition of Duke Ellington’s “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart.” Thelonious Monk readily acknowledged Ellington as one of his influences, and at times Monk could sound eerily close to his mentor. On his first session for Riverside in 1955, Monk recorded a tribute album of all Ellington material. Accompanied by superb bassist Oscar Pettiford and the sensitive drumming of Kenny Clarke, Monk shines on “I Let a Song...”
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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