KRUPA AT NEWPORT

ARTIST(S):   Gene Krupa
PRICE:    $15.00
MEDIA:   CD

Gene Krupa and The Newport Jazz Festival are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. In fact, it was long suspected that Krupa only made one appearance at the famed fest, which was Newport's inaugural outing in 1954. That, however, was not the case, as it's recently been documented that GK appeared with the quartet--Eddie Wasserman, Ronnie Ball and Jimmy Gannon--on July 2, 1959. Superbly recorded (though Eddie could have been louder), this four-tune set is highlighted by a 12-minute version of "Savoy" that's incredible. Perhaps Gene's appearance at Newport that season was tied in to the upcoming release of "The Gene Krupa Story." Whatever the reason, this is a must-have.