JAZZ AT THE PHILHARMONIC.

Description

October 1983 Japanese concert tour program

Large original concert program produced for the Jazz At The Philharmonic’s October 1983 Japanese tour, presented by Norman Granz and Shin Watanabe. The brief 3-date tour holds a profound place in jazz history, as it marked the very final tour and ultimate conclusion of Norman Granz’s legendary concert series. The tour was specifically organized to commemorate the 30th anniversary of JATP’s historic first groundbreaking visit to Japan back in 1953. Because it was the grand finale of a touring institution that began in 1944, Norman Granz assembled an absolute powerhouse crew of swing and bebop veterans, pulling heavily from the roster of his then-active record label, Pablo Records. Performing artists included Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Harry “Sweets” Edison and Clark Terry (trumpets); Zoot Sims and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (tenor saxophones); J.J. Johnson and Al Grey (trombones); Oscar Peterson and Paul Smith (piano); Joe Pass (guitar); Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Keter Betts (double bass); and Louie Bellson, Bobby Durham, and Martin Drew (drums). The absolute peak of the tour occurred at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, where the massive performances were professionally recorded and subsequently released by Pablo/Fantasy Records as the landmark archival live album Return to Happiness: Tokyo 1983. When the final curtain fell in Tokyo in October 1983, it closed the book on the most influential touring package concept in jazz history. JATP had spent decades breaking down racial segregation barriers in American theaters, pioneering the multi-artist “jam session” format, and treating jazz with absolute high-art reverence. The 1983 tour served as a joyous, bittersweet victory lap for a generation of masters who had defined the genre.

In original illustrated gloss-coated wrappers, staple bound, 25.6 x 36.3 cm, 24 pp. All text in Japanese. In remarkably near excellent complete condition, tightly bound and clean.