The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

Reception

Writing for Allmusic, Richard S. Ginell states: "Although the sheer scope of this double-CD roundup of all of Dizzy's Victor sessions places it most obviously within the evolution of bebop, it is absolutely essential to Latin jazz collections as well".

Music historian and Arts Administrator for the National Endowment for the Arts, A. B. Spellman recommended the album for the NPR Basic Jazz Record Library, stating: "Primarily, I say this for the big band, but that's not all that's on here. You have some very early Dizzy, when he's playing with the Teddy Hill Orchestra or with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. You have some small group stuff from the 52nd Street time, when he was playing all the clubs there. And you also have a very interesting couple of tunes from the Metronome All-Stars, which put him with a wide array of jazz talents of the period. But, mainly you've got Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band here working, and that's a band that is very important for everybody to know about".

The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the compilation a "Crown" signifying a recording that the authors "feel a special admiration or affection for".

Track listing

All compositions by Dizzy Gillespie except where noted.

Disc one

1. "Manteca" (Chano Pozo, Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Fuller) - 3:06
2. "Anthropology" [Take 2] (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie) - 2:53
3. "King Porter Stomp" (Jelly Roll Morton) - 3:04
4. "Yours and Mine" (Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown) - 2:41
5. "Blue Rhythm Fantasy" (Chappie Willett, Teddy Hill) - 2:42
6. "Hot Mallets" - (Lionel Hampton) - 2:17
7. "52nd Street Theme" [Take 1] (Thelonious Monk) - 3:13
8. "52nd Street Theme" [Take 2] (Monk) - 3:05
9. "A Night in Tunisia" [Take 1] (Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli) - 3:07
10. "A Night in Tunisia" [Incomplete Take] (Gillespie, Paparelli) - 2:05
11. "Ol' Man Rebop" (Leonard Feather) - 2:44
12. "Anthropology" [Take 1] (Parker, Gillespie) - 2:37
13. "Ow!" - 2:56
14. "Oop-Pop-A-Da" (Babs Gonzales) - 3:12
15. "Two Bass Hit" (Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis) - 2:56
16. "Stay On It" (Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron) - 3:13
17. "Algo Bueno (Woody 'n You)" - 2:59
18. "Cool Breeze" (Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Tadd Dameron) - 2:48
19. "Cubana Be" - 2:41
20. "Cubana Bop" - 3:17
21. "Ool-Ya-Koo" (Gillespie, Fuller) - 2:52
22. "Minor Walk" (Gillespie, Linton Garner) - 2:44

Disc two

1. "Good Bait" (Count Basie, Tadd Dameron) - 2:46
2. "Guarachi Guaro" - 3:12
3. "Duff Capers" (Garner) - 3:10
4. "Lover, Come Back to Me" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg) - 3:32
5. "I'm Be Boppin' Too" [Take 1] (Lorraine Gillespie) - 2:18
6. "Swedish Suite" (Fuller) - 2:56
7. "St. Louis Blues" (W. C. Handy) - 3:07
8. "I Should Care" (Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston, Sammy Cahn) - 3:03
9. "That Old Black Magic" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) - 2:40
10. "You Go to My Head" (Haven Gillespie, J. Fred Coots) - 3:01
11. "Jump Did-Le Ba" - 2:28
12. "Dizzier and Dizzier" (Count Basie, Gerald Wilson) - 3:06
13. "I'm Be Boppin' Too" Take 2 (Lorraine Gillespie) - 2:22
14. "Hey Pete! Let's Eat More Meat" (Buster Harding, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Peterson) - 3:01
15. "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid" (Lester Young) - 3:03
16. "If Love Is Trouble" (George Handy, Jack Segal) - 3:43
17. "In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee" (Mary Lou Williams, Milt Orent) - 2:36
18. "Overtime" [Shorter Take] (Pete Rugolo) - 3:06
19. "Overtime" [Longer Take] (Pete Rugolo) - 4:31
20. "Victory Ball" [Shorter Take] (Lennie Tristano) - 2:40
21. "Victory Ball" [Longer Take] (Tristano) - 4:12

Notes

Personnel