The Quintet

by John Bush Though all-star groups have always been a common occurrence in the jazz world, the Quintet was perhaps the most famed; certainly it was the best assemblage of bop-oriented performers ever brought together on one stage. When they recorded Jazz at Massey Hall in Toronto in 1953, altoist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell, bassist Charles Mingus, and drummer Max Roach were all at the top of their fields on each instrument -- though Mingus was actually substituting for Oscar Pettiford, a victim of a broken arm while playing baseball. Mingus recorded and first released the show, but since then many reissues and sets of different quality have appeared.