Dizzy Gillespie: A Night in Tunisia (1946)

Here's Diz & Gang back in Manhattan but minus Charlie Parker, who jumped ship after their holiday engagement at Billy Bergs Hollywood nightspot. Bird hoped to score some Mexican dope but wound up tending lettuce at the loony farm for six months. Anyhow, this 3-minute take of Dizzy's finest composition is brilliant even without Bird, thanks to great solos by Diz and tenorman Don Byas. The only drawback is the clatter of Milt Jackson's vibeslike empty glass milk bottles accidentally knocked down a cement staircase. Otherwise this is Diz at his best, and that's as good as bebop gets.