Charlie Parker – The Charlie Parker Collection 1941-1954 – 6CD

Charlie Parker was without doubt one of the most important and influential musicians in the entire history of jazz, as a pioneering and innovative alto saxophonist during the bebop era, as a composer of some of the enduring modern jazz standards, and as a bandleader and catalyst in a remarkable range of musical settings during a career that was all too brief, cut short by an early death as a result of the excesses of his pressurised lifestyle. Coming to the fore in the early 1940s, he was an early collaborator of like\-minded luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and over the next decade produced a substantial and extraordinary body of recorded work. This great\-value 137\-track 6\-CD set comprises some interesting early recordings with other leaders, and then a significant proportion of his recordings as a leader and as a prominent member of other leaders\x27 bands, working in a variety of formats from quartets and quintets, through to noted recordings with strings. It includes most of his recordings on the Savoy and Dial labels, and on Mercury, Clef, Norgran and Verve for Norman Granz, his primary record company relationships, and features some of the finest musicians of the day, including Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich, Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, Erroll Garner, Barney Kessel, Bud Powell, John Lewis, Hank Jones, Art Blakey, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Percy Heath, Charles Mingus and more. It does not purport to be a complete or definitive anthology, but it certainly represents about as comprehensive and representative cross\-section of his work as can be accommodated in this set.

Track Listing:

CD1:
Jay McShann And His Orchestra: 1. Hootie Blues -   Clark Monroe's Band: 2. Cherokee -   Tiny Grimes Quintette: 3. Tiny’s Tempo -   4. Red Cross -   Dizzy Gillespie Sextet: 5. Groovin' High -   6. All The Things You Are -   7. Dizzy Atmosphere -   Dizzy Gillespie And His All Star Quintet: 8. Salt Peanuts -   9. Shaw 'Nuff -   10. Lover Man -   11. Hot House -   Red Norvo And His Selected Sextet: 12. Hallelujah -   13. Get Happy -   14. Slam Slam Blues -   15. Congo Blues -   Charlie Parker's Reboppers: 16. Warming Up A Riff -   17. Billie’s Bounce -   18. Now's The Time -   19. Thriving From A Riff [Anthropology] -   20. Ko-Ko -   Slim Gaillard Septet: 21. Dizzy Boogie -   22. Slim’s Jam -

CD2:
Slim Gaillard Septet: 1. Poppity Pop -   Dizzy Gillespie Jazzmen: 2. Diggin' Diz [Bongo Beep] -   Charlie Parker Septet: 3. Moose The Mooche -   4. Yardbird Suite -   5. Ornithology -   6. A Night In Tunisia -   Howard McGhee Quintet/Quartet: 7. Be-Bop [Dizzy's Fingers] -   Charlie Parker Quintet: 8. Lover Man -   9. The Gypsy -   10. This Is Always -   11. Dark Shadows -   12. Bird’s Nest -   13. Cool Blues [Hot Blues] -   Charlie Parker's New All Stars: 14. Relaxin' At Camarillo -   15. Cheers -   16. Carvin' The Bird -   17. Stupendous -   Charlie Parker All Stars: 18. Donna Lee -   19. Chasin' The Bird -   20. Cheryl -   21. Buzzy -   Miles Davis All Stars: 22. Milestones -   23. Little Willie Leaps -   24. Half Nelson -   25. Sippin' At Bell's -

CD3:
Charlie Parker Quintet: 1. Dexterity -   2. Bongo Bop -   3. Dewey Square [Prezology] -   4. The Hymn -   5. Bird Of Paradise [All The Things You Are] -   6. Embraceable You -   7. Bird Feathers [Schnourphology] -   8. Klactoveesedstene -   9. Scrapple From The Apple -   10. My Old Flame -   11. Out Of Nowhere -   12. Don't Blame Me -   13. The Bird -   Charlie Parker Sextet: 14. Drifting On A Reed [Air Conditioning] -   15. Quasimodo -   16. Charlie’s Wig -   17. Bird Feathers [Bongo Beep] -   18. Crazeology -   19. How Deep Is The Ocean ? -   Charlie Parker All Stars: 20. Another Hair-Do -   21. Bluebird -   22.. Klaunstance -   23. Bird Gets The Worm -   24. Barbados -

CD4:
Charlie Parker's All Stars: 1. Ah-Leu-Cha -   2. Constellation -   3. Parker’s Mood -   4. Perhaps -   5. Marmaduke -   6. Steeplechase -   7. Merry-Go-Round -   Machito And His Afro Cuban Orchestra: 8. No Noise -   9. Mango Mangue -   10. Okiedoke -   Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: 11. Visa -   Charlie Parker With Strings: 12. Just Friends -   13. April In Paris -   14. Summertime -   15. I Didn't Know What Time It Was -   Charlie Parker Quartet: 16. Star Eyes -   17. Wahoo [Perdido] -   Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: 18. Bloomdido -   19. An Oscar For Treadwell -   20. Mohawk -   21. My Melancholy Baby -   22. Leap Frog -

CD5:
Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: 1. Relaxin' With Lee -   Charlie Parker With Strings: 2. Dancing In The Dark -   3. Out Of Nowhere -   4. Laura -   5. East Of The Sun -   6. They Can't Take That Away From Me -   7. Easy To Love -   8. I'm In The Mood For Love -   9. I'll Remember April -   Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: 10. Au Privave -   11. She Rote -   12. K.C. Blues -   13. Star Eyes -   Charlie Parker’s Jazzers: 14. My Little Suede Shoes -   15. Tico Tico -  Charlie Parker Quintet: 16. Si Si -   17. Swedish Schnapps -   18. Back Home Blues -   19. Lover Man -   Charlie Parker With Strings: 20. Temptation -   21. Lover -   22. Autumn In New York -   23. Stella By Starlight -

CD6:
Charlie Parker Quintet: 1. La Cucuracha -   2. Estrellita -   3. Begin The Beguine -   Charlie Parker Big Band: 4. Night And Day -   5. Almost Like Being In Love -   Charlie Parker Quartet: 6. The Song Is You -   7. Laird Baird -   8. Kim -   9. Cosmic Rays -   Miles Davis Sextet: 10. Compulsion -   Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: 11. In The Still Of The Night -   12. Old Folks -   Charlie Parker Quartet: 13. Chi Chi -   14. I Remember You -   15. Now's The Time -   16. Confirmation -   Charlie Parker Quartet/Quintet: 17. I Get A Kick Out Of You -   18. Just One Of Those Things -   19. My Heart Belongs To Daddy -   Charlie Parker Quintet: 20. Love For Sale -   21. I Love Paris -