Charlie

Jam Session [Recorded 1952]. Jam Session was compiled from a 1952 jam session which brought together three of history's greatest alto saxophonists; Parker, Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter, as well as Ben Webster and Flip Phillips on tenor sax. Orchestrated by Norman Granz to come as close to an authentic jam session as possible, this is the first of the Jazz at the Philharmonic series. The album includes an original blues tune ("Jam Blues"), a medley of ballads selected by each musician, and a mellow blues tune called "Funky Blues." The standard "What is This Thing Called Love," stands out particularly for its follow-the-leader style ending, with each musician trading fours. Interestingly, the meeting of these three greats, with their widely varying styles, results not in spectacular and fiercely competitive playing, but rather in a slight muting and sense of reserve from all three…

This four-CD set contains a somewhat streamlined presentation of Parker's complete known live broadcasts from New York's Royal Roost, dating during 1948 and 1949, augmented with five of the live September 29, 1947, Carnegie Hall recordings and one lower-quality tape made in Chicago during 1950…

Charlie Watts “Anthology” is an affectionate retrospective and a reflection of just how frequently Watts was able to exercise his jazz muscles between Rolling Stones commitments to create a bespoke discography of his own. Including 3 unreleased tracks. The names of Charlie's jazz heroes fell from his lips like a superfan turning the pages of a personal scrapbook. Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Chico Hamilton, Dave Green, Stan Tracey, Peter King, Courtney Pine, Gail Thompson, Brian Lemon, Gerard Presencer, the Red Rodney group and collaborator Jim Keltner. He knew every player, every session, every album, every outfit they wore on the cover, and he spoke about them with a deep and genuine reverence. He may have been a globally loved hero in the biggest band in the word, but he swatted away any compliment or comparison with his musical favourites. He counted himself their admirer, never their equal. The Anthology includes an extended essay by Paul Sexton which documents Charlie Watt’s jazz career and the essential albums covered in the collection.

The packaging is impeccable, this seven-CD box set has a definitive 48-page booklet, and the recording quality is as good as possible, so why the "poor" rating? Dean Benedetti, a fanatical Charlie Parker disciple, recorded Bird extensively during three periods in 1947-1948 but did his best to turn off his wire recorder whenever anyone but Parker was soloing. He became legendary, as did his long lost acetates, and Mosaic has done what it could to make the excerpts coherent but the results are still quite unlistenable. None of the performances on this large set are complete; guests such as Thelonious Monk and Carmen McRae are introduced, play, or sing two notes and then are cut off. And, although Parker seems to play well, these performances reveal no new secrets and add nothing to his legacy.