''Birks' Works'' is an album by trumpeter

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

recorded in 1957 and released on the Verve label.Dizzy Gillespie discography
accessed March 26, 2012 The original album featured 10 tracks and was reissued as ''Birks Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions'', a 2 CD compilation featuring unreleased tracks, alternate takes and tracks from Gillespie's previous 1956 albums '' Dizzy in Greece'' and '' World Statesman''.

Reception

'' The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' selected the reissue compilation as part of its suggested Core Collection. The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review awarded the album 5 stars calling it "Essential music".Yanow, S
AllMusic Review
accessed March 26, 2012

Track listing

''All compositions by Dizzy Gillespie except as indicated''

Original LP Release

''Side One:'' # " Jordu" ( Duke Jordan) – 4:13 # " Birks' Works" – 4:56 # "Umbrella Man" ( Vincent Rose,

Larry Stock Larry Stock (born Lazarus Goldberger; December 4, 1896 – May 4, 1984) was an American songwriter. He is most known for being a songwriter and composer for many songs including " Blueberry Hill" which was later recorded by Fats Domino. Early li ...

, James Cavanaugh) – 3:02 # " Autumn Leaves" (

Joseph Kosma Joseph Kosma (22 October 19057 August 1969) was a Hungarian composer who immigrated to France. Biography Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Ákos. A maternal relative wa ...

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the Poetic realism, poetic ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

) – 3:11 # "

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

" (

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 fi ...

, Mercer) – 3:43 ''Side Two:'' # " Over the Rainbow" (

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

, Yip Harburg) – 4:37 # "Yo No Quiero Bailar" (Joe Willoughby) – 4:42 # " If You Could See Me Now" (

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

, Carl Sigman) – 3:30 # "Left Hand Corner" ( Ernie Wilkins) – 2:26 # " Whisper Not" (

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

) – 5:17

CD Compilation Reissue

''Disc One:'' # "Dizzy's Business" (Wilkins) – 3:37 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "Hey Pete! Let's Eat More Meat" (Gillespie, Buster Harding, Lester Peterson) – 5:39 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Jessica's Day" (

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

) – 4:50 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "Tour de Force" – 5:04 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "

I Can't Get Started "I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (With You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the revue ''Ziegfeld Fo ...

" (

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

) – 2:55 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # " Stella by Starlight" (

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...

, Victor Young) – 4:07 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # " Doodlin'" ( Horace Silver) – 3:56 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # " A Night in Tunisia" – 5:34 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "The Champ" – 4:42 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # " Yesterdays" ( Otto Harbach,

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

) – 3:46 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Tin Tin Deo" ( Gil Fuller, Gillespie, Chano Pozo) – 4:17 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Groovin' for Nat" (Wilkins) – 3:21 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # " My Reverie" ( Larry Clinton,

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

) – 2:52 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "Dizzy's Blues" ( Ahmad Khatab Salim) – 2:32 Originally released on ''World Statesman'' # "Annie's Dance" (

Melba Liston Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands, she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, ...

) – 4:05 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Cool Breeze" (Dameron,

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

, Gillespie) – 4:55 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "School Days" ( Will D. Cobb, Gus Edwards) – 4:23 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Jordu" (Jordan) – 4:13 # "Yo No Quiero Bailar" (Willoughby) – 4:42 ''Disc Two:'' # "Birks' Works" – 4:56 # "Autumn Leaves" (Kosma, Mercer, Prevert) – 3:11 # "Tangerine" (Mercer, Schertzinger) – 3:43 # "Over the Rainbow" (Arlen, Harburg) – 4:37 # "Umbrella Man" (Cavanaugh, Rose, Stock) – 3:02 # "If You Could See Me Now" (Dameron, Sigman) – 3:30 # "Left Hand Corner" lternate take(Wilkins) – 0:13 Previously unreleased # "Left Hand Corner" lternate take(Wilkins) – 2:26 Previously unreleased # "Left Hand Corner" lternate take(Wilkins) – 2:16 Previously unreleased # "Left Hand Corner" lternate take(Wilkins) – 0:10 Previously unreleased # "Left Hand Corner" aster take(Wilkins) – 2:22 # "Whisper Not" lternate take(Golson, Feather) – 5:52 Previously unreleased # "Whisper Not lternate take(Golson, Feather) – 5:08 Previously unreleased # "Whisper Not aster take(Golson, Feather) – 5:17 # "Stablemates" (Golson) – 4:12 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # " That's All" (Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes) – 3:13 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # " Groovin' High" aster take– 3:53 Originally released on ''Dizzy in Greece'' # "Mayflower Rock" lternate take(Lee Brown) – 3:17 Previously unreleased # "Mayflower Rock" aster take(Brown) – 3:14 Originally released as 45rpm single B-side # "Joogie Boogie" – 4:14 Originally released as 45rpm single # " I Remember Clifford" (Golson) – 4:15 # "You'll Be Sorry" – 2:17 Previously unreleased # "Wonder Why" ( Nicholas Brodszky, Sammy Cahn) – 3:51 Previously unreleased

Personnel

On original LP and CD Compilation Reissue Disc One, tracks 18 and 19 and Disc Two, tracks 1–21

– trumpet, arranger *Talib Daawud,

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...

, Ermit V. Perry, Carl Warwick – trumpet *

– trombone, arranger * Al Grey, Rod Levitt – trombone * Ernie Henry, Jimmy Powell –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, arranger * Billy Mitchell – tenor saxophone *Billy Root –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of 1 ...

– piano *Paul West –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Charlie Persip – drums *Austin Cromer – vocals (on "Over the Rainbow", "You No Quiero Bailer", "If You Could See Me Now" and "Mayflower Rock") * Ernie Wilkins – arranger *Recorded in New York City on April 7 & 8, 1957

On CD Compilation Reissue Disc One, tracks 1–17

*Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet, vocals * Joe Gordon,

, Ermit V. Perry, Carl Warwick – trumpet *Rod Levitt, Melba Liston, Frank Rehak – trombone *Jimmy Powell, Phil Woods – alto saxophone *Billy Mitchell, Ernie Wilkins – tenor saxophone * Marty Flax – baritone saxophone * Walter Davis Jr. – piano * Nelson Boyd – bass *Charlie Persip – drums *Recorded in New York City on May 18 & 19 and June 6, 1956

On CD Compilation Reissue Disc Two, tracks 22 and 23

*Dizzy Gillespie, Talib Daawud, Lee Morgan, Ermit V. Perry, Carl Warwick – trumpet *Al Grey, Melba Liston – trombone *Ernie Henry, Jimmy Powell – alto saxophone *Billy Mitchell, Benny Golson – tenor saxophone * Pee Wee Moore – baritone saxophone *Wynton Kelly – piano *Paul West – bass *Charlie Persip – drums *Recorded in New York City on July 8, 1957

References

{{Authority control Dizzy Gillespie albums 1957 albums Verve Records albums Albums produced by Norman Granz