During his tragically short career, it was evident to most observers that Charlie Parker was one of a kind. Though there were some who recoiled from the emotional message of his brilliant playing, there was a small but significant group of listeners even in the 1940s who realised that his work was something extraordinary and significant. Already at his death in 1955, it became clear that, for all his personal failings, he had made an enormous contribution to the field of jazz. Now, 50 years after the event, he can be seen as one of the very few key figures in its evolution â?? and indirectly a huge influence on the wider world of American popular music. Given that the Proper series already contains a four-CD set of Parkerâ??s important studio recordings made between 1944 and 1951 (Boss Bird, PROPERBOX 46), it seems appropriate to celebrate his anniversary with a compilation of the live recordings. Of course, their superiority doesnâ??t extend to overall sound quality, but the atmosphere and invention of some of these in-person appearances is beyond price. There is a huge amount to choose from, since a combination of factors made Charlie one of the most widely recorded jazzmen ever. Itâ??s partly a simple reflection of his importance that so many fans and fellow musicians made sure they obtained copies of his live performance, and partly the timing that enabled the widespread use of wire-recorders and tape-recorders â?? thanks to technology developed largely during World War II. Bassist Gene Ramey gave the most graphic description of how Charlieâ??s live playing was superior to his studio work. â??Heâ??d hear dogs barking, for instance, and he would say it was a conversation â?? and if he was blowing his horn he would have something to play that would portray that thought to usâ?¦And maybe some girl would walk past the dance floor while he was playing, and something she might have would give him an idea for something to play on his solo.â?? Ramey also noted on the first Sunday matinee at the Savoy what was supposed to be a 15-minute broadcast, which proved so compelling the radio station allowed it to overrun. â??Bird started blowing on Cherokee at that extremely fast tempoâ?¦We played about 45 minutes more, just the rhythm-section and Bird, with the horns setting riffs from time to time. That night you couldnâ??t get near the bandstand for musicians who heard the broadcast. â??Who was that saxophone player?â? They all wanted to know.â?? We present these recordings chronologically, spanning a career of live performances taking in everything from Parkerâ??s early work as featured soloist with the likes of Jay McShannâ??s orchestra to his famed small groups co-helmed with Dizzy Gillespie right up to a number of recordings featuring Parker backed by a live string section. Parkerâ??s contribution was so great that it quickly became an integral part of the common language, but people such as Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane were in no doubt as to his huge significance, any more than his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk were. It has rightly been said that no one, apart from his great predecessor Louis Armstrong, changed the music played on all instruments, to the same extent as Charlie Parker. These 4cds present Bird in full-flight, live and winging it as only he could!
Disc 1
1. Cherokee 2:462. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles 3:56
3. Sweet Georgia Brown 7:40
4. Groovin' High 5:39
5. Shaw'nuff 4:14
6. Dizzy Atmosphere 4:22
7. Salt Peanuts 2:03
8. Anthropology 2:52
9. Billie's Bounce 3:43
10. Blue 'N Boogie 5:02
11. All The Things You Are 5:08
12. Ornithology 4:55
13. A Night In Tunisia 5:05
14. Dizzy Atmosphere 4:00
15. Groovin' High 5:12
16. Confirmation 5:37
17. Ko Ko 4:06
Disc 2
1. 52nd Street Theme 5:062. Ko Ko 2:32
3. Groovin' High 4:52
4. Big Foot 4:44
5. Ornithology 5:40
6. Slow Boat To China 5:08
7. Hot House 4:25
8. Salt Peanuts 3:51
9. Chasin' The Bird 4:24
10. Out Of Nowhere 3:20
11. Half Nelson 4:32
12. White Christmas 4:53
13. Little Willie Leaps 3:42
14. Bebop 3:49
15. East Of The Sun 4:41
16. Cheryl 4:21
17. Scrapple From The Apple 4:11
18. Barbados 3:51
Disc 3
1. Wahoo 6:352. 'Round Midnight 5:05
3. This Time The Dream's On Me 6:19
4. Dizzy Atmosphere 6:53
5. Move 6:32
6. The Street Beat 9:29
7. Out Of Nowhere 6:21
8. Little Willie Leaps/52nd Street Theme 5:46
9. Ornithology 7:51
10. I'll Remember April/52nd Street Theme 9:27
11. Cool Blues/52nd Street Theme 9:05
Disc 4
1. Ornithology 4:342. Cheryl 5:14
3. Ko Ko 5:16
4. Bird Of Paradise 6:24
5. Now's The Time 5:35
6. Blue 'N Boogie 6:46
7. Anthropology 4:57
8. 'Round Midnight 3:09
9. Night In Tunisia 4:48
10. Hot House 3:28
11. Laura 3:00
12. This Time The Dream's On Me 6:06
13. Cool Blues 3:17
14. Lester Leaps In 3:45
15. How High The Moon 5:26
16. Embraceable You/52nd Street Theme 3:30
17. East Of The Sun 3:27
DISCOGRAPHY
P1493 DISC ONE â?? BIRD TAKES OFF
CHARLIE PARKER
CP (as); unknown musician poss. Incl. George Tredwell, Vic Coulsen (tp), Ray Abrams (ts), Allen Tinney (p), Ebenezer Paul (b), â??Moleâ?? (d)
Poss. Monroeâ??s Uptown House, NYC, c.1942
Cherokee
JAY McSHANN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Buddy Anderson, Orville Minor, Bob Merrill (tp), Lawrence Anderson, Taswell Baird (tb), CP, John Jackson (as), Bob Mabane, Fred Culliver (ts), James Coe (bs), Jay McShann (p), Lucky Enois (g), Gene Ramey (b), Gus Johnson (d)
Savoy Ballroom, NYC, February 13, 1942
Iâ??m Forever Blowing Bubbles
CHARLIE PARKER/DIZZY GILLESPIE
Dizzy Gillespie (tp), CP (ts), Oscar Pettiford (b)
Room 405, Savoy Hotel, Chicago, February 15, 1943
Sweet Georgia Brown
DIZZY GILLESPIE AND HIS BEBOP SIX
Dizzy Gillespie (tp, vcl), CP (as), Al Haig (p), Milt Jackson (vib-l), Ray Brown (b), Stan Levey (d)
LA, December 29, 1945
JUB161 Groovinâ?? High
JUB162 Shaw Nuff
JUB209 Dizzy Atmosphere-1
Lucky Thompson (ts) added
LA, January 24, 1946
Salt Peanuts-1, VDG
CHARLIE PARKER QUINTET
Miles Davis (tp), CP (as), Joe Albany (p), Addison Farmer (b), Chuck Thompson (d)
Finale Club, LA, March 1946
Anthropology
Billieâ??s Bounce
Blue â??Nâ?? Boogie
All The Things You Are
Ornithology
CHARLIE PARKER/DIZZY GILLESPIE
Dizzy Gillespie (tp), CP (as), John Lewis (p), Al McKibbon (b), Joe Harris (d)
Carnegie Hall, NYC, September 29, 1947
13000/1 Night In Tunisia
13002 Dizzy Atmosphere
13003/4 Groovinâ?? High
13005 Confirmation
Ko Ko
PROPERBOX 99 CHARLIE PARKER â?? CHASINâ?? THE BIRD
DISCOGRAPHY
P1494 DISC TWO â?? BIRD AT THE ROOST
CHARLIE PARKER ALL STARS
Miles Davis (tp), CP (as), Tadd Dameron (p), Curley Russell (b), Max Roach (d), Symphony Sid (mc)
Royal Roost, NYC, September 4, 1948
52nd Street Theme
Ko Ko
As above, but:
Al Haig (p), Tommy Potter (b) replace Dameron and Russell
Royal Roost, NYC, December 11, 1948
Groovinâ?? High
Big Foot
Ornithology
Slow Boat To China
Royal Roost, NYC, December 12, 1948
Hot House
Salt Peanuts VCP
Royal Roost, NYC, December 18, 1948
Chasinâ?? The Bird
Out Of Nowhere
Kenny Dorham (tp) replaces Davis
Royal Roost, NYC, December 25, 1948
Half Nelson
White Christmas
Little Willie Leaps
As last except Joe Harris (d) replaces Roach
Royal Roost, NYC, January 1, 1949
Bebop
East Of The Sun
Cheryl
Royal Roost, NYC, January 15, 1949
Scrapple From The Apple
Max Roach (d) replaces Harris
Royal Roost, NYC, February 12, 1949
Barbados
PROPERBOX 99 CHARLIE PARKER â?? CHASINâ?? THE BIRD
DISCOGRAPHY
P1495 DISC THREE â?? BIRD IN FLIGHT
CHARLIE PARKER
Fats Navarro (tp), CP (as), Bud Powell (p), Curley Russell (b), Art Blakey (d)
Unknown Venue, NYC, May 17, 1950
Wahoo
â??Round Midnight
This Time The Dreams On Me-1
Dizzy Atmosphere
Move
The Street Beat
Out Of Nowhere
Little Willie Leaps/52nd Street Theme
Ornithology
Iâ??ll Remember April-1/52nd Street Theme
Cool Blues/52nd Street Theme-2
1-Navarro out, 2-Walter Bishop (p) replaces Powell
PROPERBOX 99 CHARLIE PARKER â?? CHASINâ?? THE BIRD
DISCOGRAPHY
P1496 DISC FOUR â?? BIRDLAND AND ELSEWHERE
CHARLIE PARKER
Red Rodney (tp), CP (as), Al Haig (p), Tommy Potter (b), Roy Haynes (d)
Carnegie Hall, NYC, December 24, 1949
Ornithology
Cheryl
Ko Ko
Bird Of Paradise
Nowâ??s The Time
CHARLIE PARKER/DIZZY GILLESPIE
Dizzy Gillespie (tp), CP (as), Bud Powell (p), Tommy Potter (b), Roy Haynes (d), Symphony Sid (mc)
Birdland, NYC, March 31, 1951
Blue â??N Boogie
Anthropology
â??Round Midnight
Night In Tunisia
CHARLIE PARKER/DIZZY GILLESPIE
Dizzy Gillespie (tp), CP (as), Dick Hyman (p), Sandy Block (b), Charlie Smith (d)
Channel 5 TV, NYC, February 24, 1952
Hot House
CHARLIE PARKER
CP (as), unknown ob and strings-1, Walter Bishop (p), Mundell Lowe (g), Teddy Kotick (b), Max Roach (d)
Rockland Palace Ballroom, NYC, September 26, 1952
Laura-1
This Time The Dreamâ??s On Me
Cool Blues
Lester Leaps In
CHARLIE PARKER
CP (as), John Lewis (p), Milt Jackson (vib), Percy Heath (b), Kenny Clarke (d)
Birdland, NYC, November 1, 1952
How High The Moon
Embraceable You/52nd Street Theme
CHARLIE PARKER
CP (as), unknown ob and strings, Walter Bishop (p), Teddy Kotick or Tommy Potter (b), Roy Haynes (d)
Birdland, NYC, August 27, 1954
East of The Sun
