Full title - Dizzy Gillespie & His Operatic Strings Orchestra. Part of the Jazz In Paris series from the French label Gitanes. 16 remastered tracks including 4 previously unreleased versions. Digipak. 2002.

Bass - Charles Mingus (tracks: 1-12)
Drums - Max Roach (tracks: 1-12)
Piano - Bud Powell (tracks: 1-12)
Saxophone [Alto] - Charlie Parker (tracks: 1-6)
Trumpet - Dizzy Gillespie (tracks: 1-6)
Recorded live at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada; May 15, 1953.

Japanese Limited edition remastered version of Dizzy in Greece (originally released on Verve in 1957) features 'Hey Pete', 'Yesterdays', That's All', 'Groovin' High' and six more. Paper Sleeve. Universal. 2005.

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.

Although Lalo Schifrin is justifiably praised for his soundtrack work, many jazz purists turn up their noses at his jazz dates, such as his '60s work with Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery. The things that make Schifrin an anathema to the diehards -- the huge orchestras, the pop and soul riffs, the general air of over the top theatricality -- are all over 1977's Free Ride, his reunion date with Dizzy Gillespie. (Schifrin had been Gillespie's arranger in the late '50s.) In fact, Free Ride is so painfully dated that it's transformed into cockeyed cool, just the sort of record ironic hipsters should listen to while they're reading the novelizations of '70s cop shows that they bought for a bundle off of eBay. Gillespie plays with his usual wit and panache, but most of the time, he sounds like a sideman on his own album; the real focus of Schifrin's arrangements is the funky wah-wah guitars and ARP synthesizer solos that take center stage on tracks like "Fire Dance" (which sounds exactly like it should be the theme for a Charlie's Angels spinoff) and the mellow disco of the closing "Last Stroke of Midnight." Occasionally, Gillespie gets to break out on his own album, with the lovely solo on "Love Poem for Donna" his particular standout. For what it is, Free Ride is really quite good (guests include Lee Ritenour and future star Ray Parker, Jr.), but it's very much a record of and for its time.