Jazz Reviews : Gillespie and Superspace Band at Pacific Amphitheatre

Dizzy Gillespie’s natural milieu is the big band. More than almost any other of the movers and shakers of post-World War II jazz, he seems most comfortable in the raging rhythms and shouting brass of a large ensemble.

Sunday night he arrived at the Pacific Amphitheatre with a large congregation of international all-stars identified as the U.N. Superspace Band, performing arrangements that were rich with Latin percussion.

If the band were a bit smaller (four brass, three saxes and six rhythm) than the high-flying flocks of Gillespie’s past, it was no less enthusiastic, and included a roster of such stellar musicians as James Moody, Monty Alexander, Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, Claudio Roditi and Airto Moreira.

Gillespie low-keyed his own playing, soloing affectively, if briefly, on such trademark numbers as “Manteca,” “Tin-Tin-Deo” and “Night in Tunisia.” His real role was as musical paterfamilias, proudly displaying the work of the many gifted performers in his creative family.

And there was plenty to display. Among the highlights: Faddis’ incredible high-note lead trumpet; a body-shaking excursion through “St. Thomas” by pianist Alexander; the flute soloing of Moody--a rare example of a player truly measuring himself against the music; Paquito D’Rivera’s be-bop-revisited alto saxophone and Sam Rivers’ outward bound tenor saxophone; Hampton’s ever-dependable trombone and Roditi’s explosive trumpet; Flora Purim’s scat-filled vocals; the turbulent percussion of Ignacio Barroa and Manenguito and the steady rhythm team of guitarist Ed Cherry and bassist John Lee.

In an evening filled with memories to savor, two performances best illustrated the remarkable reach of jazz. The first was a duet between Moreira, playing with his Brazilian percussion instruments, and trombonist Steve Turre, working with a tuned collection of seashells. Using only the shells’ natural harmonics, Turre constructed an amazing improvisation, filled with primal rhythms and--incredibly--melodic phrases.

The second memorable moment was provided by Moreira, standing in lonely splendor before a microphone, with only a large tambourine for companionship. But it was a deceptive image, because when he began to conjure up his rhythmic magic, singing an occasional samba cry and adding police whistle accents to the hypnotic thumps and jangles of the tambourine, it was as if an entire Mardi Gras samba club had joined Moreira on stage.

Neither performance could be narrowly defined as jazz, but both testified to the real message behind Gillespie’s U.N. Superspace Band--that American jazz music has become the property of the world, and we have all benefited from its expansion.

Gillespie and the U.N. Superspace Band will play tonight at the Greek Theatre.