Music: Dizzy Gillespie - In the mood for love - (It's about Cuban influences - a great singer over here!)

[And Then She Stopped]-Dizzy Gillespie and the united nation orchestra

Recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England on June 10, 1989. Includes liner notes by Michael D'Vore and Dan Morgenstern. LIVE AT THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL is a glorious summation of Dizzy Gillespie's career as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger and musical innovator. It ranks as one of his last great recordings before his death on January 6, 1993. With an accent on the Afro-Cuban innovations that he brought to popular culture, The United Nations Orchestra is a colorful, hard-swinging, beautifully balanced ensemble. The band imparts to each tune a fresh spin without compromising its classic essence. Trumpeters Claudio Roditi and Arturo Sandoval are powerful echoes of Gillespie's own youth. While Gillespie peppers his harmonic explorations with half-valve effects and blues colorations, Roditi and Sandoval flesh out Gillespie's voicings and extend on the implications of his solos, to particular effect on the concluding "A Night In Tunisia." There are also splendid renditions of Gillespie classics like "Kush" and "Tin Tin Deo," and a fast swinging "Tanga." The latter features Flora Purim's wordless vocals, some high-powered rhythm section interplay, and one of Gillespie's most assured, inspired solos before giving way to a furious saxophone battle. LIVE AT THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL is a joyous musical event.