The New York Times 7 November 2022

Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer.

The History of Mercury Living Presence
The year was 1950. The record industry was recovering from the 'battle of the speeds', which pitted RCA Victor, with its 45-rpm disc, against Columbia Records, inventor of the microgroove long-playing record. (The 78-rpm shellac disc had just suffered a swift demise.) In the aftermath of the protracted struggle, the unexpected happened. Both sides won: the 45-rpm became the preferred speed for popular music at the time and the LP was adopted as the industry standard for classics and other 'long-playing' programs.

A Comprehensive Historical Release. Black & White Records Rescued from extinction – music you’ve likely never heard. At Mosaic, presenting music that’s been hard to find — or completely overlooked — is as exciting today as it was in 1983 when we assembled our very first package of Blue Note recordings featuring Thelonious Monk. Sometimes we unveil just a handful. Other times, dozens. So, can you imagine how exhilarated we are about an 11-CD set where nearly every track has been unavailable for nearly 75 years? Unearthing the music on our new collection, Classic Black & White Jazz Sessions, has been a dream for decades. Unlike most of our sets, the original masters of these sessions are not known to exist anymore. Confusion over who owned the copyrights and who owned physical recordings we could use as source material raised additional obstacles.

A Comprehensive Historical Release. Black & White Records Rescued from extinction – music you’ve likely never heard. At Mosaic, presenting music that’s been hard to find — or completely overlooked — is as exciting today as it was in 1983 when we assembled our very first package of Blue Note recordings featuring Thelonious Monk. Sometimes we unveil just a handful. Other times, dozens. So, can you imagine how exhilarated we are about an 11-CD set where nearly every track has been unavailable for nearly 75 years? Unearthing the music on our new collection, Classic Black & White Jazz Sessions, has been a dream for decades. Unlike most of our sets, the original masters of these sessions are not known to exist anymore. Confusion over who owned the copyrights and who owned physical recordings we could use as source material raised additional obstacles.

Internationally acclaimed composer William McClelland has written a wide variety of music in many styles and forms, but the works in this program have all been inspired by poetry. The choral works evoke the atmosphere of time and place in settings of very early texts, including Catullus’ movingly elegiac lament for his lost brother, These Last Gifts, an experience shared by the composer. The short pieces in Five for Piano all evoke specific poems and, composed over several decades, McClelland’s songs are primarily settings of poetry by American writers that express a mystical, symbolic or visionary view on nature.

Chloe Chuyue Zhang is a graduate of the Juilliard School where she earned her Masters degree in piano performance studying with Jerome Lowenthal. Prior to attending Juilliard, Chloe received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. Chloe is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where she served as a teaching assistant of Natalya Antonova in 2020 and 2021. Born in Shenzhen, China, Chloe was the first prize winner of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in 2021. Chloe has recently been featured on PBS’ Classical Pianists of the Future series that was broadcast nationally by the WSKG channel. She has also been featured as a soloist alongside several orchestras including the Chautauqua Music Festival Student Orchestra, Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, November 27, 1980
Bonus Tracks: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, November 28, 1980