Dizzy In South America, Vol. 3

The third and final volume of previously unreleased recordings by the 1956 Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra during its tour of South America differs from the earlier two volumes in a few ways. This is a two-CD set rather than a single disc and the entire second disc, along with the last half hour of the first, is taken up by interviews. The two-fer begins with two songs from Gillespie's big band ("Yesterdays," featuring altoist Phil Woods, and "A Night in Tunisia") and then six intriguing selections featuring Dizzy with a samba orchestra in Buenos Aires. The latter performances were formerly unknown and are quite good, finding Gillespie adapting himself easily to the South American rhythms. The remainder of this two-fer is comprised of interviews, with Gillespie heard in 1956 and most of the other discussions being from 2000-2001. Reminiscing about the tour and the band in general are Woods, Quincy Jones, Billy Mitchell, Charlie Persip, Benny Golson, Rod Levitt, and Lalo Schifrin. The discussions are often heartwarming and sometimes witty, but are really only worth hearing once, making this set (despite the samba selections) only of limited interest.