The 18-piece DGAASBB starts with a bravura arrangement of Benny Golson's Stablemates, a classic Basie-style belter with progressive inflections. Trumpeter/MD Jon Faddis explains that it was written for Dizzy Gillespie's 1956 State Department tour, when the late trumpeter "led a band to go round apologising for US Government policy". He pulls a face as if to say that, in the Bush era, nothing changes. There's a burst of applause. And then a pause. "Well, I didn't vote for him!" says Faddis, with an apologetic grimace.
Faddis has the tough job of evoking the spirit of bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie (1917-93) without impersonation - joshing and clowning one minute, deeply musical the next. Concluding or starting numbers with stratospherically high trumpet notes, they play classics from Gillespie's heyday, such as Emanon, Blue'n'Boogie and Monk's Off Minor. Each number features a string of solos, enhanced at key moments by Faddis's creamy, Dizzy-like tone on trumpet. He announces Jessica's Day as "a number by Michael Jackson's producer", throws in a Jacko impersonation and reminds us that Quincy Jones played trumpet in Gillespie's 1956 band. A version of Manteca, Dizzy's genre-defining collaboration with Chano Pozo, features nice solos from guitarist Marty Ashby and bassist John Lee (though Manteca without congas is like Take the A-Train without piano).
Roberta Gambarini sings standards, including When Lights Are Low, Manha De Carnaval (A Day in the Life of a Fool) and a beautifully pitched Stardust, arranged by silver-haired trombonist Slide Hampton. Two other musicians hail from Dizzy's earliest bands: Frank Wess (alto/flute) and James Moody (tenor/flute), who plays beautifully on Emanon. Faddis pays elaborate tribute to the three elders: "Thank you for being."
The evening's high point, however, came from one of the younger guys - alto-saxophonist Antonio Hart - who grabbed Things To Come and tore it apart with the most gripping, adventurous and heartlifting solo of the evening.
· This performance will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Friday. The London jazz festival continues at various venues until Sunday.
Details: serious.org.uk
