Jivin' in Be-Bop

Just watched on the Internet Archive this all-black revue hosted by Freddie Carter and featuring the music of Dizzy Gillespie with accompaniment from Ray Brown on bass and Milt Jackson on vibraphone among other band members. In between sets, Carter and Gillespie do a short banter most of which wasn't funny though I was amused by this exchange: Freddie-"How long do you think Cain can hate his brother?" Dizzy-"As long as he is Abel." During some of Dizzy's music, some exotic dancers like Sahji among others do their thing. There's also some fine singers like Helen Humes who starts things off with "E-Baba-Le-Ba". There's also some good tap dancers like Ralph Brown. Oh, and even a couple of piano players named Dan Burley and Johny Taylor who provide some good instrumentals called "Hubba-Hubba Blues" and "Hubba-Hubba Boogie". This was a pretty entertaining revue film that also featured the likes of James Moody, Audrey Armstrong, Delores Brown, Dave Burns, Benny Carter, Kenny "Pancho" Hagood, Henny and Johnny, Daisy Richardson, and expressionist dancer Ray Sneed. So on that note, I recommend Jivin' in Be-Bop.

Jivin' in Be-Bop (1946)

*** (out of 4)

This film here, co-directed by Spencer Williams (uncredited), isn't the greatest thing that you'll ever see but it's certainly a very entertaining documentary of some of the black acts that one would have seen back in the day.

The documentary lasts just under a hour so it's perfect for a variety show type production. Throughout the running time we get some dancers, comedians, some singers and some terrific jazz music. The biggest draw here is that Dizzy Gillespie is on hand and this is a great treat and especially since there's not a great bit of footage of him performing. Other acts include James Moody, Helen Humes, exotic dancer Sahji, Burly-Taylor Duo among others.

If you're into race pictures from this era then obviously this here will be a must see. The production values aren't the greatest and the film isn't too flashy but I found the acts to be entertaining and the film very much worth watching.

This was recently shown on the Black Family Channel, and (as a Jazz musician myself) I had to check it out. I mean, 1946 footage of Dizzy Gillespie? Not something you see that often. My expectations were moderate, though, having seen some of the strange vehicles musicians have been roped into, attempting to blend some kind (any kind) of plot with their music.

This is emphatically not that. Although the print shows its age at times, and synchronization was a occasionally off ('course, maybe they weren't performing live for the film's sound track ...), this is a well-crafted hour full of solid entertainment. Singers, instrumentalists, dancers both male and female, even comedy. Add to that getting to see such performers as Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, Benny Carter and Gillespie himself, along with many more, in what amounts to a front-row seat for a very cool variety show, photographed intelligently and orchestrated to please. Includes Salt Peanuts and Night In Tunisia; many of the numbers don't show the musicians, which I was sorry for, but overall, the show is great fun.

If you're a fan of Jazz and Bebop, Dance, and/or Dizzy Gillespie, and you get a chance to watch this, prepare to be entertained.