Remastered, 180-gram pressing

Album download included

"The Mooche" was written by Duke Ellington in 1928 for the trumpeter Bubber Miley. In his long version, performed at this 1961 date in Stuttgart, Dizzy Gillespie explores it at length. Lalo Schifrin's piano solo uses block chords to further heighten the dramatic intensity of this soul remake. The full-length version of "Kush," recorded in Frankfurt, demonstrates how the quintet is always able to inject new life into familiar themes. The manner in which a muted Dizzy, without piano accompaniment, dances with bass (Bob Cunningham) and drums (Mel Lewis) in "Kush" remains an audio adventure even 50 years later. A master of suspense, Lalo Schifrin saw it exactly as it was. Leo Wright's alto saxophone answers from the depths of his soul, urging the band along in a strudel of emotions. These historic recordings bear witness to an important phase in the career of this exceptional trumpeter.

Track Listing
Side 1
The Mooche
Willow Weep For Me

Side 2
Kush
Opps-Shoo-Be-Doo-Be
I Can’t Get Started