Exhaustive 30 CD collection from the Jazz legend's short-lived label. Contains 44 original albums (421 tracks) plus booklet. Every record-collector has run across an album with the little sax-playing bird in it's label-logo, right next to the brand name Charlie Parker Records or CP Parker Records. Turning the sleeve over, especially if it was one of the non-Parker releases, and seeing a '60s release date under the header Stereo-pact! Was as exciting an experience as it was confusing. Was the claim Bird Lives meant more literally than previously thought?
Elemental Music proudly presents DEXTER GORDON QUARTET -ESPACE CARDIN 1977, a complete previously unissued live performance by the great saxophonist, digitally remastered from the original master tapes at the INA Archives. Recorded in Paris on September 25, 1977, this concert marks the only recorded encounter of Gordon with the brilliant pianist Al Haig, who had been for years the pianist in Charlie Parker's Quintet. The group is completed by French bassist Pierre Michelot and the superb Kenny Clarke on drums. The program includes an outstanding reading of "Body and Soul", and Dexter's only known version of Sonny Rollins' "Oleo". A trio version of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight" showcasing the rhythm section led by Al Haig, recorded during the same performance, has been added as a bonus.
Here you have the first installment in the Classics Wardell Gray chronology. His earliest appearances on record can be found on this label's surveys of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine. Having this brilliant saxophonist's recordings laid out in exact chronological order is both a treat for the connoisseur and a perfect introduction for those who haven't yet had the pleasure. Wardell Gray's first session as a leader took place in Los Angeles on November 23, 1946, in the excellent company of pianist Dodo Marmarosa, bassist Red Callender, and alternate drummers Harold "Doc" West and Chuck Thompson. These Sunset recordings were not issued commercially and languished for years in obscurity…
These are the first recordings ever released under the name of Stan Getz. Four Savoy sides from July 1946 constitute one hell of a debut as Getz gets off with the expert backing of Hank Jones, Curly Russell, and Max Roach. "Opus de Bop" and "Running Water" are dazzlers, while "And the Angels Swing" and "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" reveal Getz's often-noted Lester Young influence. Six sides cut for Bob Shad's Sittin' in With record label in October 1948 are especially satisfying on account of pianist Al Haig, electric guitarist Jimmy Raney, bassist Clyde Lombardi, and drummer Charles Perry. All six tunes were composed by Getz and demonstrate an obsession with bop formulae. "Frosty," also known as "Flugelbird," was recorded about a month later for Shad's other label, Jax…
The Frémeaux label have done an admirable job of compiling the complete chronological recordings of major artists such as Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong and Mahalia Jackson. Now they turn their attention to Charlie Parker. This three CD set covers an exciting period when Parker and fellow bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie were shaking up the jazz world, not just at gigs but with widely distributed 78s. Most of the tracks, recorded in New York and Los Angeles, feature both men, in the studio and on radio broadcasts. A young Miles Davis also makes an appearance.
The historic live Town Hall sessions by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker from 1945 have been discovered on an acetate pressing, and are transferred with digital enhancement to CD. Why this concert was not issued initially is understandable, but Ira Gitler's informative and insightful liner notes suggest they likely were misplaced. What Gitler's essential writing also reveals is that these dates were approximate by only weeks to the original studio recordings of these classics, and there was no small amount of controversy surrounding this revolutionary bebop. Clearly bop was a vehicle for intricate melodic invention followed by lengthy soloing, aspects of which Parker with Gillespie were perfectly suited for…
Reissue features the latest digital remastering and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest DSD / HR Cutting remastering. Comes with a description. Features the original LP designs. A unique all-star set recorded in various combinations between 1949 and 1951, Conception is an underappreciated masterpiece of cerebral cool jazz. Although Miles Davis gets top billing, he appears on only half the album and then most often as a sideman with only occasional solos. Saxophonists Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan are the true stars of the album, with Konitz particularly shining.