Jazz
Charlie Parker Alto Saxophone
Stan Freeman Piano
Ray Brown Bass
Buddy Rich Drums
Jimmy Carroll Arranger, Conductor
Red Rodney Trumpet
John Lewis Piano
Kenny Clarke Drums
Hank Jones Piano
Teddy Kotick Bass
Max Roach Drums
Miles Davis Trumpet
Walter Bishop, Jr. Piano
Joe Lipman Arranger, Conductor
Norman Granz Producer
The Charlie Parker story on what became the Verve label is intimately bound with the impresario Norman Granz. From late 1948 until his death, Parker worked under an exclusive recording agreement with Granz, who encouraged the alto saxophonist to work in a kaleidoscope of fresh dimensions, including string ensembles, orchestras, and large Latin-jazz bands: "I insisted that Charlie play pretty tunes written by good songwriters instead of just the blues....[He] had done just about everything possible with the small combination that the 'boopers' used." Among the great Verve artists Granz teamed Parker with in units of all kinds were Benny Carter, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Lester Young - all heard on this distinctive selection of the alto saxophonist's greatest performances for the label.
Anyone daunted by the expense of acquiring the 10-disc Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve may well have their prayers answered by this 2-CD distillation of the big box. It covers a wide stretch of material from Parker's career, going back to the first JATP concert in 1946 and stretching almost to the end of his Norman Granz period. One might prefer a chronological approach - which the box takes - to the wild skipping around from session to session and idiom to idiom that occurs here. But the set does touch all of the bases of the Verve catalogue - the JATP concerts, the string sessions, the Afro-Cuban experiments, the big band treatments, the botched Gil Evans session, and of course, the small combo formats that Parker usually worked within. As part of a basic Charlie Parker collection, which would also include samplings from the Dial and Savoy periods, these CDs are essential as an overview of the diverse formats that Parker explored while recording for Granz.
---Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide |
