Afro (album) explained

Afro
Type:	Album
Artist:	Dizzy Gillespie
Cover:	Afro (album).jpg
Recorded:	May 24 and June 3, 1954 New York City
Genre:	Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop
Length:	33:05
Label:	Norgran MGN 1003
Producer:	Norman Granz
Chronology:	Dizzy Gillespie
Prev Title:	Diz and Getz
Prev Year:	1953
Next Title:	Dizzy and Strings
Next Year:	1954

Afro is a studio album by the jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. It was released in November 1954 through Norgran Records.^[1] Gillespie worked with many Cuban musicians on the album.^[2]

Reception

The AllMusic review states "Pairing Dizzy Gillespie with Cuban arranger/composer Chico O'Farrill produced a stunning session which originally made up the first half of a Norgran LP... A later small-group session features the trumpeter with an all-Latin rhythm section and flutist Gilberto Valdes... it is well worth acquiring."^[3]

Track listing

1. "Manteca Theme" (Gil Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo) - 4:10
2. "Contraste" (Gillespie, Chico O'Farrill, Pozo) - 2:45
3. "Jungla" (Gillespie, O'Farrill, Pozo) - 4:44
4. "Rhumba Finale" (Gillespie, O'Farrill, Pozo) - 4:43
5. "A Night in Tunisia" (Gillespie, Frank Paparelli) - 4:19
6. "Con Alma" (Gillespie) - 5:05
7. "Caravan" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) - 7:19

Personnel

• Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet
• Gilbert Valdez - flute (tracks 5-7)
• Quincy Jones, Jimmy Nottingham, Ernie Royal - trumpet (tracks 1-4)
• Leon Comegys, J. J. Johnson, George Matthews - trombone (tracks 1-4)
• George Dorsey, Hilton Jefferson - alto saxophone (tracks 1-4)
• Hank Mobley, Lucky Thompson - tenor saxophone (tracks 1-4)
• Danny Bank - baritone saxophone (tracks 1-4)
• Réne Hernandez (tracks 5-7), Wade Legge (tracks 1-4) - piano
• Lou Hackney (tracks 1-4), Roberto Rodríguez - bass
• Charlie Persip - drums (tracks 1-4)
• Cándido Camero - congas, percussion
• Mongo Santamaria - congas (tracks 1-4)
• José Mangual - bongos
• Ubaldo Nieto - timbales
• Ralph Miranda - percussion (tracks 5-7)
• Chico O'Farrill - arranger (tracks 1-4)

Notes and References

1. Clef to Issue 4 Successful Albums in EP. Littleford. R.S. Jr. 11. . The Billboard Publishing Co.. Cincinnati. November 27, 1954.
2. Book: Njoroge, Njoroge M.. Chocolate Surrealism: Music, Movement, Memory, and History in the Circum-Caribbean. June 16, 2016. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 9781496806925. Google Books.
3. Dryden, K. Allmusic Review accessed March 28, 2012