The Great Blue Star Sessions 1952–1953 is a
compilation album by trumpeter
Dizzy Gillespie featuring performances recorded in 1952 and 1953 and originally released on the French Blue Star label.[1] Many of the tracks were first released as
78 rpm records and re-released in the US as albums on the
Atlantic and
Fontana labels such as Dizzy at Home and Abroad and Dizzy Gillespie and His Operatic Strings Orchestra.
Reception
The
Allmusic review stated "it's not for the casual fan, but anyone who knows of these recordings on any level understands what a key place they hold on Dizzy's shelf as he transitioned from the bebop of the 1940s into the hard bopping, big-group wailing of the 1950s. Highly recommended".[2]
Track listing
All compositions by Dizzy Gillespie except as indicated
Recorded on March 25 (Disc One, tracks 1–6), April 5 (Disc One, tracks 7–21) and April 6 (Disc Two, tracks 1–8), 1952 at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and on February 22 (Disc Two, tracks 9–16), 1953 at the Studio Pathe Magellan in Paris, France
Yvan Allouche, Maurice Elhan, Lionel Gali, Leon Locatelli, Octave Marchesini, Georges Mignot, Albert Mousseux, Roger Sanard, Jean Sauvage – violin (Disc One, tracks 7–16)
Gabriel Beauvais, Andre Saulnier – viola (Disc One, tracks 7–16)
Pierre Coddee, Georges Schwartz – cello (Disc One, tracks 7–16)