Gillespie Stays Dizzy at Showcase

It's just as well that artists aren't knighted in America. As much fun as it would be to address John Birks Gillespie as "Sir Dizzy," the title wouldn't convey the proper respect. Nor, if one were to draw on our own mythology, would "Dizzy the Kid."

As he approaches 72, however, Gillespie retains the most youthful of spirits. Nearly a half-century after he co-authored the book of bebop with Charlie Parker, the great trumpeter refuses to slip into any kind of grand-old-man posture. Just ask young electric guitarist Ed Cherry or young tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway, two members of the quintet he has brought to the Jazz Showcase.

In truth, Tuesday's opening set was a bit sluggish. Certainly the leader, whom some observers insist on writing off in the face of some glorious late-period playing, has had better nights as a soloist. But his distinctive stamp still was all over the set, which awakened familiar tunes with an up-to-the-minute buzz.

"Birks Works" was given a long and leisurely reading, while " 'Round Midnight" benefitted from Holloway's immediacy and creamy tone. "Manteca," the Afro-Cuban classic, derived topspin from Cherry's lean, cutting sound. And Gillespie, the scat singer non pareil, had fun reviving "Oop-Pop-A-Da," a golden nugget he helped the Dirty Dozen Brass Band levitate on their recent LP.

No quintet can easily recover from the loss of a veteran talent like Sam Rivers, who has returned to pursuing his own projects. But in Holloway, who hails from Washington, D.C., Gillespie has found a fluent, strong-minded replacement. And in electric bassist John Lee (who should get more of a chance to stretch out as the week goes on) and drummer Ignacio Berroa, the band continues to have real rhythmic backbone.

Gillespie's band will perform nightly through Sunday at the Showcase, 636 S. Michigan.

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