More Diz: “Dizzy’s 80th Birthday Party” on...

More Diz: “Dizzy’s 80th Birthday Party” on Shanachie Records salutes the bebop master’s music in performances by the “Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars,” including Lee, Berroa, trumpeter Jon Faddis, all former alumni, with pianist Cyrus Chestnut, saxophonist Antonio Hart and others. The program is filled with spirited music related to Gillespie--”Salt Peanuts,” “Con Alma,” “Dizzy Atmosphere”--touching his virtuosity, his humor and his sheer creative talent.

Sadly, “Bird Songs” on Telarc, identified as Gillespie’s “Final Recordings” and produced at New York City’s Blue Note club in 1992, a year before his death, might have been better left unreleased. Although the impeccable phrasing and imaginative lines were still present in Gillespie’s playing, the capacity to execute them had diminished drastically.