@qwest_tv: At Studio 104 at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, the amiable trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie performed with his quintet for the “Jazz Session” TV program. By this time, he had already been widely championed as a co-founder of the bebop jazz idiom— a breakaway from the stale swing music of the day. His partner in crime was saxophonist Charlie Parker. The funny Dizzy survived the excesses of the ‘50s and went on to become a jazz superstar, well-liked by the audience. For this date, Gillespie went back to his beginnings, rendering the gem of his career, “A Night in Tunisia,” that he wrote in the late ‘40s when he was playing in Benny Carter’s band. It ended up becoming the signature piece for Dizzy’s bebop big band. In 2004 the Recording Academy added the frequently covered jazz standard to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Here the delivery featured bassist Red Mitchell who played a terrific solo that inspired Dizzy to end with a high-pitched blast on his horn. Dizzy’s set list included tunes by band members, including pianist Mike Longo’s samba-tinged number and an electric guitar showcase by George Davis. Dizzy brought down the house with his trumpet finesse and his virtuosic scatting on his gleeful “Oop-Pop-a-Da” number that was a mainstay of his 1948 bebop big band repertoire. He growled, yelped and joked with good humor. The crowd erupted into applause and called for an encore. Watch "Dizzy Gillespie - Live in Paris" on Qwest TV!

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Tuesday 10 February 2026 05:09:02 GMT