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Charlie Parker: Birth Of Bebop - Celebrating Bird At 100

By Mark Corroto
August 2, 2020
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Charlie Parker: Birth Of Bebop - Celebrating Bird At 100

Let's face it, there is absolutely nothing new to say about the music of

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker, unless (insert joke here) you happen to be Phil Schaap. Lao Tzu's quote "The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long" is fitting.

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane was 40 when he died in 1967,

Eric Dolphy

woodwinds
1928 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Dolphy 36 in 1964, and

" data-original-title="" title="">Clifford Brown died at 25 in 1956. Parker was dead at the age of thirty-five in 1955. His legend has grown larger with each new generation of jazz musicians and music fans. "Bird Lives" is still proclaimed in biographies, at the Charlie Parker Festival, and in the film Bird (1988) by Clint Eastwood. His innovative music has been dissected, transcribed into Real Books, and is a litmus test for anyone who picks up an alto saxophone. Stick a pin in the calendar circa 1945 and pinpoint when Bird changed the course of jazz history.

The question here is, when did you first hear the great American invention of Mr. Parker—bebop? For me it was on a scratchy mixtape cassette in the 1980s. For ezz-thethics label chief Werner X. Uehlinger, the 10-inch Dial recordings he heard in 1953 inspired him to reissue the music of Parker's Dial and Savoy recordings. Maybe more important than reissue, the music is remastered, as he has done with music from

Marion Brown

saxophone, alto
1931 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Marion Brown,

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane. Kudos to the CD remastering work of Pete Pfister here and with all the above artists' reissues.

These 2 disks comprise 23 selections from Parker's Savoy recordings from 1945-47 and 24 from his Dial recordings 1946-47. We hear a very young

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis alongside bebop's co-creator

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet
1917 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Dizzy Gillespie,

Max Roach

drums
1925 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Max Roach, plus seemingly everyone that was present at the birth of bop. Although these 51 selections are just a fraction of the Parker discography, which includes alternative takes, false starts, radio broadcasts, and Dean Benedetti amateur tape recordings, they contain all the spark needed for the uninitiated. Maybe just as important for a veteran Bird fan. hearing "KoKo" take off like a rocket is like reliving one's own baptism into this crazy and beautiful music. Now's the time to celebrate Charlie Parker's centennial.

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Track Listing

Savoy Sessions:- Billie's Bounce; Thriving From A Riff; Koko; Meandering; Donna Lee; Cheryl; Buzzy; Another Hair Do; Bluebird; Klaunstance; BirdGets The Worm; Barbados; Constellation; Parker��s Mood; Parker��s Mood (AT-2); Marmaduke; Steeplechase; Merry Go Round; A Night In Tunisia; Dizzy Atmosphere; Groovin�� High; Confirmation; Koko; Dial Sessions:- Moose The Mooche; Yardbird Suite; Ornithology; A Night In Tunisia; Bird��s Nest; Cool Blues; Relaxin�� At Camarillo; Dexterity; Bongo Bop; Dewey Square; The Hymn; Bird Of Paradise; Embraceable You; Bird Feathers; Klact-oveeseds-tene; Scrapple From The Apple; My Old Flame; Out Of Nowhere; Don��t Blame Me; Drifting On A Reed; Quasimodo; Charlie��s Wig; Bongo Beep; Crazeology.

Personnel

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto

Miles Davis

trumpet

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet

Sadik Hakim

piano

Curly Russell

bass, acoustic

Max Roach

drums

Bud Powell

piano

Tommy Potter

bass, acoustic

Duke Jordan

piano

John Lewis

piano

Al McKibbon

bass, acoustic

Joe Harris

saxophone

Lucky Thompson

saxophone

Arvin Garrison

guitar

Dodo Marmarosa

piano

Vic McMillan

bass, acoustic

Roy Porter

drums

Erroll Garner

piano

Red Callender

bass, acoustic

Harold 'Doc' West

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Howard McGhee: trumpet; Wardell Gray: tenor saxophone; Barney Kessell: guitar; Don Lammond: drums; Duke Jordan: piano; J.J. Johnson: trombone.

Album information

Title: Birth Of Bebop - Celebrating Bird At 100 | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: ezz-thetics

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