The American Dream - Jazz at the Philharmonic

 

From Bret "Jazz Video Guy" Primack.

This performance, it should be noted, is another rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's composition "Ow".  

Ow (Gillespie).  Jazz at the Philharmonic, 1967.  Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, James Moody, Zoot Sims, Teddy Wilson, Bob Cranshaw, Louis Belson.

"Jazz at the Philharmonic" (JATP) was a concert and recording series organized by jazz impresario Norman Granz. The first "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert took place in 1944 at the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The series featured performances by some of the greatest jazz musicians of the era, including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, and many more.

These concerts were significant for several reasons:

1. Integration: At a time when the United States was still largely segregated, JATP concerts were among the first to feature racially integrated lineups. Norman Granz was a strong advocate for civil rights and insisted that his concerts not be segregated.

2. Popularization: The concerts helped popularize jazz by bringing it into major concert halls and introducing it to wider audiences. Previously, jazz had largely been confined to nightclubs and smaller venues.

3. Musical Freedom: The format of the concerts often involved loose, jam-session style performances, which gave musicians a high degree of artistic freedom and the chance to engage in improvisational interplay.

4. Recordings: The concerts were also recorded and widely distributed, contributing to the popularization of the music and the musicians involved.

5. Innovation: The musicians who played at JATP concerts were often on the cutting edge of jazz, and the concerts served as a platform for the introduction of new styles and ideas.

The "Jazz at the Philharmonic" series was hugely influential in shaping the course of jazz history and played a role in the careers of many of the genre's most important musicians. It ceased its regular activities in the late 1950s but has had an enduring legacy, inspiring subsequent generations of jazz musicians and fans alike.