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| 2.876 Ft
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| 1. | Moose the Mooche
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| 2. | Bird of Paradise
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| 3. | Ornithology
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| 4. | A Night in Tunisia
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| 5. | Yardbird Suite
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| 6. | Cool Blues
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| 7. | Relaxin' at Camarillo
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| 8. | Stupendous
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| 9. | Dexterity
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| 10. | Bongo Bop
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| 11. | Dewey Square
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| 12. | The Hymn
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| 13. | Embraceable You
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| 14. | My Old Flame
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| 15. | Klact-Oveeseds-Tene
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| 16. | Out of Nowhere
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| 17. | Scrapple from the Apple
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| 19. | Drifting on a Reed
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| 20. | Quasimodo
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| 22. | Bongo Beep
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| 23. | How Deep Is the Ocean?
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Jazz
Assisted by some of the greatest players in the jazz world these 23 tracks culled from the legendary Dial archives showcase a unique talent rich in spirit and imagination.
Louis Armstrong may have invented the idea of the jazz virtuoso twenty years earlier but Charlie 'Bird' Parker was the blazing genius of the modern jazz revolution called bebop and he remains jazz's most conspicuously prodigious not to say influential improviser. His genius was an unmatched facility for spontaneous melodic invention, barely repeatable even by himself, full of sophisticated subtlety yet rooted in the blues of Kansas City where he grew up. "Bird could make more tunes out of the blues than any musician who ever lived," trumpeter Howard McGee once commented.
Bebop is often frantic, exciting music but Bird's musical imagination always sings through with a controlled beauty and cool logic. Compiled from the legendary Dial recordings of 1946-47, here are twenty-three examples of Charlie Parker at his finest.
1. Moose The Mooche (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Vic McMillan (bass), Roy Porter (drums). Hollywood, March 1946
Jazz tunes can often be little more than licks based on an existing chord sequence. 'Moose The Mooche' - famously named after Bird's drug supplier - is one of the numerous blowing vehicles based on the chords of George Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' but is unusual in its relatively detailed and intricate melody. Full of Parker's characteristic twists and surprising stop-start phrases - like a formalised version of his improvisations - it's the essence of bebop.
2. Yardbird Suite (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Arvin Garrison (guitar) Vic McMillan (bass), Roy Porter (drums). Hollywood, March 1946
A more leisurely, almost swing-style theme based loosely on Earl Hines's 1933 tune Rosetta, written and arranged (with lyrics) by Parker back in 1941 for Jay McShann's band. The solos are pertinent throughout though their sequence unusually convoluted to fit a seven piece jazz group on one side of a 78rpm disc. Parker's beautifully poised contribution was once described by fellow altoist Lee Konitz as 'perfect music'.
3. Ornithology (Parker-Harris)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Arvin Garrison (guitar) Vic McMillan (bass), Roy Porter (drums). Hollywood, March 1946
Composed by trumpeter Benny Harris around Parker's opening improvised phrase on the 1942 Jay McShann recording of 'The Jumpin' Blues' and based on the chord changes of the 'How High The Moon', 'Ornithology' is one of the great bop standards. As an indication of how infectious was Parker's brilliance, you can hear a shout of approval (1:00) from one of the musicians at a wittily echoed major-to-minor phrase.
4. A Night In Tunisia (Gillespie-Paparelli) Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Arvin Garrison (guitar) Vic McMillan (bass), Roy Porter (drums). Hollywood, March 1946
Featuring an exotic vamp, evocative minor-key saxophone riffs and a quite astonishing double-time four-bar break from Parker into his solo, 'Tunisia' took two hours of rehearsal and recording to get into releasable shape. This and Parker's other scintillating breaks on otherwise unsatisfactory performances have been retained for comparative study and are part of Bird lore.
5. Cool Blues (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Erroll Garner (piano), Red Callender (bass), Harold 'Doc' West (drums). Hollywood February 1947
This blues theme was tried at various tempos, though it was this medium-up take that was issued first. Though peppered with the occasional hip chord substitutions, Parker's solo is otherwise contentedly relaxed enough to reveal his blues and Kansas City roots. Garner is irrepressible and inventive, already - aged 25 - very much himself.
6. Relaxing At Camarillo (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Howard McGhee (trumpet), Wardell Gray (tenor), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), George 'Red' Callender (bass), Don Lamond (drums). Hollywood February 1947
The ingenious piano intro devised by pianist Dodo Marmarosa is a reminder what a loss his disappearance from the jazz scene was to the music. Wardell Gray, who takes the second solo here, was another majestic musician who suffered a tragic early demise. A deceptively tricky blues tune written in the cab on the way to session, the Camarillo of the title is the name of the mental institution from where Parker had recently emerged, refreshed and healthy, as his playing here conveys.
7. Stupendous (McGhee-Broiles)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Howard McGhee (trumpet), Wardell Gray (tenor), Dodo Marmarosa (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), George 'Red' Callender (bass), Don Lamond (drums). Hollywood February 1947
A variation on the title and chord changes of Gershwin's 'S'Wonderful', this lick of a melody was apparently composed by Melvyn Broiles, a student of McGhee's. Only a mere 32 seconds of Bird in flight here but once more, the remaining soloists all have something to offer, with guitarist Barney Kessel particularly inspired.
8. Dexterity (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
A typically slippery 'Rhythm' theme is slickly delivered before Parker's delicious solo; check those double time runs in the bridge. Miles did better on another take and Duke Jordan was no Bud Powell but this is fine, medium-grade bop.
9. Bongo Bop (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
A classic Parker blues, transformed into something vaguely exotic by the bar of rhumba-style syncopations laid down by Max Roach every four bars through the tune, an early indication of the drummer's resourcefulness and invention. Listen during Parker's solo for a favourite signature four-bar blues phrase (0:54-0:59) that he often returned to.
10. Dewey Square (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
Roach's provocative conception is again in evidence on the intro before the band explodes into a tightly organised performance of 'Dewey Square', another variation on 'Rosetta' (see 'Yardbird Suite') and named after Parker's current hotel. This group had been gigging together regularly for six months and it shows in the coherent, unruffled playing.
11. The Hymn (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
A blues vehicle for some of Parker's and Miles Davis's most exhilarating improvisations. The theme - a peaceful, gospel-esque tune at notable odds with the frenetic blowing choruses - first occurs, unusually, after Bird's initial flight of fancy.
12. Bird Of Paradise (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
A few takes earlier, the source material of Jerome Kern's 'All The Things You Are' had been clearer, with Parker stating the melody. Exploiting - as many jazz musicians did and still do - the anomaly in music copyright law that allows a chord sequence to be appropriated for variations with no payment due to the composer, Parker fashions a timelessly elegant improvisation that also legally entitled him to composer royalties.
13. Embraceable You (Gershwin-Gershwin)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York October 1947
Parker could have done the same with this, though the clear, two-horn reference to Gershwin's original tune after Miles's sensitive contribution in the closing moments is enough to identify the melodic source. Bird's ballad performance here is magisterial, robust yet heartfelt and vulnerable.
14. My Old Flame (Johnston-Coslow)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York November 1947.
The 1934 tune - introduced by Ivy Anderson and Duke Ellington in the movie 'Belle Of The Nineties' - is given a characteristically elaborate reading by Parker at his most melodically inventive. Miles Davis's plaintive half-chorus is a perfect example of the quality that has been described as Bird's 'emotional counterweight'.
15. Klact-oveeseds-tene (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York November 1947
Hyphenated just as Bird did on a club table card, the title remains a mystery, though could - according to one theory - be a pidgin German approximation of 'goodbye malicious gossip'! A piping march-like theme topping and tailing the piece, Roach's superb drum work, the 'Perdido'/'Lady Be Good' hybrid sequence and the excellent solos make it one of Parker's most intriguing sides.
16. Out Of Nowhere (Green-Heyman)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York November 1947
Too long for issue on a 10-inch 78 r.p.m. disc at the time, this performance of the 1931 standard is nevertheless near-faultless, notable not only for Parker's triumphant chorus but also for wonderfully poised 16 bar contributions from Duke Jordan and Miles Davis.
17. Scrapple From The Apple (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York November 1947
Based on 'Honeysuckle Rose' with an 'I Got Rhythm' bridge, this is a memorable Parker theme of medium difficulty and consequently probably one of his most covered pieces. Parker delivers particularly wise music and his well-oiled quintet are at the peak of their powers.
18. Don't Blame Me (McHugh-Fields)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York November 1947
This treatment of 1931 song was third ballad of the session and so relaxed were the musicians, it was put to bed in this single take. If the performance seems to be interrupted, time considerations means Miles Davis follows Bird's chorus by soloing on a single A section of the song's AABA structure, rather than on the bridge B then the final A, which would have lent a better sense of closure to the performance.
19. Drifting On A Reed (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York December 1947
Augmented by remarkable trombonist J.J. Johnson, this perky blues was also known as 'Big Foot'. Parker's alto sound on his three choruses is impressive and imposing, thanks no doubt to the new Selmer instrument he had just acquired. Everyone else performs well with the hugely improved Duke Jordan's glittering solo a highlight. Also note the way Max Roach drives the band and 'plays' the theme.
20. Quasimado (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York December 1947
Another variation on 'Embraceable You', only this time disguised behind a sly original melody. The three-horn ensemble is spot-on and Parker's double-time half-chorus is simply mesmerising.
21. Charlie's Wig (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York December 1947
A more adventurous choice of source material (Sigmund Romberg's 'When I Grow Too Old To Dream' with its unusual ABCB form) inspires a most intriguing Parker theme and intrepid soloing from the musicians, with J.J. Johnson setting the standards by which other modern trombonists would be judged.
22. Bongo Beep (Parker)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York December 1947
Roach gets to play a Latin feel he hinted at earlier (see 'Bongo Bop') for the whole of this droll original blues theme.
23. How Deep Is The Ocean (Berlin)
Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums). New York December 1947
Commanding and creative, Bird sketches his designs over Irving Berlin's harmonic framework with tender melodic abandon, even fervour, but always with an ear for the beautiful. |
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