This is a short excerpt of a much longer concert from the "Birdland All-Stars in
Europe" tour. In addition to Davis, the tour featured Lester Young, Bud Powell,
The Modern Jazz Quartet, the René Urtreger Trio, and (on some of the German dates)
the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra. Apparently the complete concert from this date survives
in an audio recording in the SWR Baden-Baden archives, and the titles performed
were as follows:
- Jubilee (Heinz Kiessling) (Edelhagen Orchestra) (6:30)
- Yesterdays (Orchestra) (4:00)
- Sweets (Bill Russo) (Orchestra) (3:20)
- Night and Day (Orchestra + Johnny Teupen, harp) (4:30)
- Stockholm Blues (Johnny Teupen) (Orchestra + Johnny Teupen, harp) (4:50)
- D and E (MJQ) (3:45)
- Milano (MJQ) (3:19)
- La Ronde (MJQ) (2:20)
- Django (MJQ + Orchestra) (7:00)
- Bluesology (MJQ + Orchestra) (5:30)
- Taking a Chance on Love (V. Duke-J. LaTouche) (Alice Babs + Orchestra) (2:20)
- I Can't Give you Anything But Love (J. McHugh-D. Fields) (Alice Babs + Orchestra) (1:55)
- Yesterdays (J. Kern) (Helmut Brandt Quintet) (5:00)
- The Best Thing for You is Me (René Urtreger Trio) (3:00)
- Tune Up (Urtreger Trio) (3:00)
- Walkin' (Davis + Urtreger Trio) (3:35)
- What's New? (Davis + Urtreger Trio) (3:35)
- Indiana (Lester Young + Urtreger Trio) (2:30)
- Bess, O Where's my Bess? (MJQ) (4:00)
- Versailles (MJQ) (3:00)
- Lester Leaps In (arr. Wolfgang Förster) (Young, Davis, MJQ + Orchestra) (9:20)
- How High the Moon (Young, Davis, MJQ + Orchestra) (8:00)
The "Birdland All-Stars in Europe" tour itinerary included the following stops:
November 2: Salle Pleyel, Paris
November 3 (evening): Concertgebouw, Haarlem
November 3 (midnight): Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
November 4: Palais de Beaux-Arts, Brussels
November 6: Sportspalast, Berlin
November 7: Hamburg: Festhalle A
November 8: Rosengarten, Mannheim
November 9: Kongresshalle, Frankfurt
November 10: Unknown venue, Hamburg
November 11: Deutsches Museum, Munich
November 12: Stadthalle, Freiburg
November 13: Konserthuset, Stockholm
November 14: KB-Hallen, Copenhagen
November 16: Unknown venue, Lille
November 17: Salle Pleyel, Paris
November 18: Unknown venue, Strasbourg
November 19: Kongresshaus, Zürich
November 20: Victoria Hall, Geneva
November 21: Musikhalle, Basel
November 22: Teatro di via Manzoni, Milan (two concerts, afternoon and evening)
November 23: Teatro Nuovo, Turin (two concerts, afternoon and evening)
November 24: Unknown venue, Marseilles
November 25: Unknown venue, Lyons
According to an interview with Jeanne de Mirbeck, René Urtreger's sister and Davis's
companion during this time, there were 28 concerts in this tour (see Jazz Magazine,
December 2007, pp. 20-21). After the evening concert on November 22, Davis participated
in a jam session in a Milan club, the Taverna Mexico, with Renato Angiolini (p),
but Davis apparently did not like his playing and so replaced him with Milt Jackson;
the other participants were Alceo Guatelli (b) and an unknown Italian drummer. Thanks
to Stefano Biosa for this information.
The few fragments that survive from this tour show Davis in fine form and (as here)
a very frail Lester Young.
I'm grateful to Alexander Keth for the information about the complete recording, and to
Tommaso Urbano for his help. Perhaps someday this recording will be released commercially.
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