Tom Erdmann, Reporter

Jon Faddis’ Lecture/Demonstration on what he considers to be the four musical periods in the playing style of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, done entirely without written or musical notes in front of him for reference, thoroughly showed how clearly and completely Faddis understands the scope and historical significance of this revolutionary patriarch of jazz music. In addition, Faddis’ playing of exact note-for-note memorized transcriptions of some of Dizzy’s solos provided further proof of Faddis’ internalization of Dizzy’s scope and that there is no greater living tie to the great jazz communicator than Faddis.

Throughout each of the four periods discussed (I. Influence of Roy Eldridge, 1937-1945; II. Influence of Charlie Parker, 1945-1953; III. The epitome of Dizzy’s technique and Faddis’ favorite period, 1954-1964; IV. The decline in technique accompanied by the rise in maturity, 1965 until his death.) Faddis went into great musical detail regarding many different musical elements. For example, Faddis discussed how phrasing and the importance of the placement of slurs and accents changed in each period, as well as Dizzy’s conception and performance of vibrato, articulations, new harmonic explorations, rhythmic style, and importance of off-beats, to name just a few of the areas covered.

Of particular interest was a short section on things Dizzy could not do on the trumpet (growls, shakes, and circular breathing). By pointing out these relatively minor areas lacking in Dizzy’s abilities the audience was able to appreciate more clearly the great significance of Dizzy as a historical figure through the knowledge that he did not need any so-called “gimmicks” in order to be a driving force in the forward motion of jazz. Dizzy was all about the music and the make-up of that music – everything else just gets in the way. He needed nothing more than the building blocks of the art in order to be an innovative force.

Faddis ended the program in two ways. First he played two short rare clips of Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker playing in front of cameras. While it wasn’t ostensibly about Dizzy, it did bring the audience back to a time when music was about feeling and emotion, and technique was used to amplify those areas, not replace them – basic elements that were central to the very essence of Dizzy’s creative integrity? Then Faddis played a video of an Oscar Peterson jam session done live at the Montreux Jazz Festival which reinforced many points made regarding commonground between the phrasing styles of Dizzy and Charlie Parker. This was followed by some wonderfully heartfelt personal stories from Faddis regarding Dizzy, and even though the stage-crew tried to get Faddis to leave the stage (as the concert order was starting to get woefully behind), the audience would not let him leave.