Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Groovin' High - Charlie Parker
2. All the Things You Are - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
3. Dizzy Atmosphere - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
4. Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
5. Shaw 'Nuff - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
6. Hot House - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker
7. Now's the Time - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's Re-Boppers
8. Koko - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's Re-Boppers
9. Moose the Mooche - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker Septet
10. Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker Septet
11. Ornithology - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker Septet
12. Cool Blues - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker Septet
13. Relaxin' at Camarillo - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
14. Donna Lee - Charlie Parker
15. Chasin' the Bird - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
16. Dewey Square - Charlie Parker Quintet
17. Bird of Paradise - Charlie Parker
18. Hymn - Charlie Parker Quintet
19. Embraceable You - Charlie Parker
20. Klact-Oveeseds-Tene - Charlie Parker Quintet

Disc 2:

1. Quasimodo
2. Scrapple from the Apple - Charlie Parker Quintet
3. Out of Nowhere - Charlie Parker Quintet
4. Don't Blame Me - Charlie Parker Quintet
5. Quasimodo - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker Sextet
6. Klaunstance - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
7. Parker's Mood - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
8. Bloomdido - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker & his Orchestra
9. Star Eyes - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker & his Orchestra
10. She Rote - Charlie Parker Quintet
11. My Little Suede Shoes - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker & his Orchestra
12. Confirmation - Charlie Parker
13. Blue 'N' Boogie [Live] - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
14. 'Round Midnight [Live] - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
15. Night in Tunisia [Live] - Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker's All Stars
16. Just Friends [Live] - Charlie Parker With His Quintet & Strings
17. What Is This Thing Called Love? [Live] - Charlie Parker With His Quintet & Strings
18. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) [Live] - Charlie Parker With His Quintet & Strings
19. Laura [Live] - Charlie Parker With His Quintet & Strings

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161681 in Music
• Released on: 1997-03-18
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com essential recording
This two-CD set is an ideal introduction to the music of Charlie Parker and the bop revolution. Its 38 tracks are culled from several labels, including Savoy and Dial, with many of them recorded between 1946 and 1949, the altoist's most creative period and the years in which he was reshaping jazz. This is music of luminous vitality--whether rapid-fire and manic, witty or tender. Musical ideas and feelings spun from Parker's horn with divine ease, every newly minted phrase drenched in meaning. Parker was changing the way the best young musicians played--whether saxophonists, pianists, or drummers--and it's apparent here in the supporting work of Miles Davis, Max Roach, Bud Powell, and a host of others. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

awesome package, but what are you after?
For years I shied away from delving into Charlie Parker's music for lack of the knowledge to discriminate among a huge number of recordings, many of them of quite dubious provenance. These problems are unnecessary today, with guides like Penguin and AMG easily available. And now this fine Rhino package makes things even easier for someone checking out Bird for the first time. Great care has gone into the selection of tracks, as well as the packaging, with informative liner notes, photos, and gratuitously elegant touches like the spirals found on the clear underlay for each of the 2 discs.

Here, however, is something to think about -- do you want an attractive Parker box for your collection (this is a box containing 2 discs and a booklet) for show, or do you really want to listen to Bird intensely and repeatedly? This collection covers Bird's entire career, including several live sides with strings from his last years, which I personally have little interest in. I suggest that you might consider starting with the Savoy masters, say THE GENIUS OF CHARLIE PARKER, and/or the excellent collection of later Verve sides, BIRD'S BEST BOP ON VERVE. (There doesn't seem to be a single-disc collection of the Dial sides, and YARDBIRD SUITE contains a good dose of Dials.) You can't go wrong diving in right here, but if you hear this collection after hearing some of his essential Savoy, Dial and Verve recordings in concentrated form, you may better appreciate its riches. If this is where you start, listen closely -- if you do, you're certain to want to hear more!

A great collection
This 2CD Set is a great collection of Charlie Parker. There are a total of 38 tracks that cover his career from his early days as part of Dizzy Gillespie's band to his solo bebop recordings.

A This is a great set for anyone interesting in Parker's music. n added bonus to this set is that the packaging is excellent. each CD is in an individual "booklet style" case and it includes a 50 page highly readable booklet. The only disappointing feature about this set was that all the tracks are found on other albums(mainly from the Savoy, Dial and Verve catalogs). and there were no "new" unreleased recordings here. A good sampling that is ideal for anyone beginning a jazz collection but it will make you want to go and buy more of Parker. I would recommend the Complete Dial Sessions set.

Nice introduction, but mistakes on this set
As pointed out, there are a few fatal flaws with this set. Besides the questionable source material and occasional overuse of noise reduction (both heard on this compilation's mastering of "Ko Ko," with the unusual 'twang' at the beginning and the heavily compressed sound quality), there are actually a few tracks where wrong takes were selected; basically, the compilation's claims of using only master takes are false. This CD substitutes inferior, alternate takes of "Relaxin' at Camarrillo" and "Embraceable You" for the originals. As for the track that somehow had its piano intro edited out, that would be "Moose the Mooche."

A year ago, I'd still recommend this set despite these flaws, but with the monumental "Complete Savoy & Dial Recordings: 1944-1948" having been released (with better sound, though a few minor problems with packaging and a few controversial pitch corrections), I'd have to go with that one. Yeah, "Yardbird Suite" is a lot cheaper, and most people will end up springing for it, but the 8CD box set is simply incredible.