Jazz At Massey Hall

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Charles Mingus

As the title clearly states, this album was recorded live at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada, in May 1953. This summit of modern jazz titans – held in a concert hall three-quarters empty – is considered by many to be the greatest jazz concert ever. The music survives thanks to the foresight of Charles Mingus, who, along with Max Roach, taped the performance and subsequently issued it on Mingus’s own new label, Debut.

“Whether you are familiar or not with these performances, rest assured that one does not need to dig for moments that remain impressive and fresh, or that reveal the personality of each player in their prime,” says jazz journalist Ashley Khan in his new liner notes to the reissue. “It seems all worlds of music – rock, blues, R&B, soul, hip-hop and others – are able to point to impromptu get-togethers as proud moments in their timelines, encounters that were recorded and created music of lasting impression. In the jazz tradition, there are a few, but none that has been revered for as long as Jazz at Massey Hall.”

Phillips notes the importance of remembering that the Massey Hall date captured in this recording was not a rehearsed gathering, but rather a one-time-only concert event. “It’s a perfect example of what can happen when musicians of this caliber come together and just play! It’s the very definition of an all-time classic, and each and every musician on this recording is a true legend of jazz.”

A1 Perdido 7:06
A2 Salt Peanuts 7:20
A3 All The Things You Are 7:39
B1 Wee 6:34
B2 Hot House 8:53
B3 A Night In Tunisia 7:15