Charlie Parker - On Savoy Years: Complete Edition (1989) [8CD Box Set]

The reason why jazz could not have survived without Charlie Parker is because jazz was careening towards an artistic dead-end, a victim of the popularity of swing. When something gets popular, moronic fans want to hear it over and over again, and they don’t want musicians mucking with it. While Ellington took a more gradual approach to change, Charlie Parker wanted to get on with it and play the things he kept hearing in his head. If he had not come along and expanded the possibilities of jazz, its growth as an art form might have ended with World War II. Parker made Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and many other modern greats possible, because he gave them permission to explore beyond the boundaries of the Saturday night dance extravaganza.

My goal in reviewing Charlie Parker is to bring him down to earth, yank him off the pedestal his worshippers have built for him with their snooty, protective arrogance, and hopefully inspire the curious to explore this fascinating artist.

Tracks:

Cd. 1
1 Tiny's Tempo [take 1] (Grimes, Hart) 3:01
2 Tiny's Tempo [take 2] (Grimes, Hart) 3:00
3 Tiny's Tempo [take 3 (master)] (Grimes, Hart) 2:54
4 I'll Always Love You Just the Same [take 1] (Grimes) 2:57
5 I'll Always Love You Just the Same [take 2 (master)] (Grimes) 3:00
6 Romance Without Finance [take 1] (Grimes) 3:06
7 Romance Without Finance [take 2 (inc.) & 3] (Grimes) 4:08
8 Romance Without Finance [take 4 (inc.) & 5] (Grimes) 3:47
9 Red Cross [take 1] (Parker) 3:16
10 Red Cross [take 2 (master)] (Parker) 3:07

Personnel
Tiny Grimes Quintet
Charlie Parker - as
Clayde Hart - p
Tiny Grimes - g & voc
Jimmy Butts - b
Doc West - dr
Recorded at WOR Studios, New York City ; September 14, 1944

11 Warming up a Riff [Cherokee] [inc.] (Gillespie, Paker) 2:34
12 Billie's Bounce [take 1] (Parker) 2:41
13 Billie's Bounce [take 2 (inc.) & 3] (Parker) 4:48
14 Billie's Bounce [take 4 (inc.) & 5 (master)] (Parker) 4:48
15 Now's the Time [take 1, 2 (false starts) & 3] (Parker) 4:06
16 Now's the Time [take 4 (master)] (Parker) 3:16
17 Thriving From a Riff [Anthropology] [take 1] (Gillespie, Paker) 2:58
18 Thriving From a Riff [Anthropology] [take 2 (inc.) & 3 (master)] (Gillespie, Paker) 3:18
19 Meandering [Embraceable You] [inc.] (Davis) 3:16
20 Koko [take 1 (false start) & 2 (master)] (Parker) 3:34

Personnel
Charlie Parker Reboppers
Miles Davis - tp
Dizzy Gillespie - tp & p
Charlie Parker - as
Argonne Thorton [Sadik Hakim] - p
Cureley Russell - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded at WOR Studios, New York City ; November 26, 1945


Cd. 2
1 Donna Lee [take 1 (false start) & 2] (Parker) 3:12
2 Donna Lee [take 3] (Parker) 2:30
3 Donna Lee [take 4] (Parker) 2:35
4 Donna Lee [take 5 (master)] (Parker) 2:32
5 Chasin' the Bird [take 1] (Parker) 2:55
6 Chasin' the Bird [take 2 (false start) & 3] (Parker) 3:19
7 Chasin' the Bird [take 4 (master)] (Parker) 2:44
8 Cheryl [take 1 & 2 (master)] (Parker) 3:01
9 Buzzy [take 1] (Parker) 2:57
10 Buzzy [take 2 (inc.) & 3] (Parker) 3:11
11 Buzzy [take 4 (inc.) & 5 (master)] (Parker) 2:48

Personnel
Charlie Parker All Stars
Miles Davis - tp
Charlie Parker - as
Bud Powell - p
Tommy Potter - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded at Harry Smith Studios, New York City ; May 8, 1947

12 Milestones [take 1 (false start) & 2 (master)] (Davis) 2:43
13 Milestones [take 3] (Davis) 2:44
14 Little Willie Leaps [take 1 (inc.) & 2] (Davis) 3:54
15 Little Willie Leaps [take 3 (master)] (Davis) 2:49
16 Half Nelson [take 1] (Davis) 2:49
17 Half Nelson [take 2 (master)] (Davis) 2:42
18 Sippin' at Bell's [take 1 (inc.) & 2 (master)] (Davis) 3:13
19 Sippin' at Bell's [take 3 (false start) & 4] (Davis) 2:32

Miles Davis' All Stars
Miles Davis - tp
Charlie Parker - ts
John Lewis - p
Nelson Boyd - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded at Harry Smith Studios, New York City ; August 14, 1947

20 Another Hair-Do [take 1, 2 & 3 (inc.)] (Parker) 3:13
21 Another Hair-Do [take 4 (master)] (Parker) 2:37
22 Bluebird [take 1] (Parker) 2:52
23 Bluebird [take 2 & 3 (master)] (Parker) 2:54
24 Klaunstance [The Way You Look Tonight] (Parker) 2:44
25 Bird Gets the Worm [Lover Come Back to Me] [take 1] (Parker) 2:59
26 Bird Gets the Worm [Lover Come Back to Me] [take 2 (inc.) & 3 (master)] (Parker) 2:45

Personnel
Charlie Parker's All stars
Miles Davis - tp
Charlie Parker - as
Duke Jordan - p
Tommy Potter - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded at United Studios, Detroit, Michigan ; December 21, 1947


Cd. 3
1 Barbados [take 1] (Parker) 2:37
2 Barbados [take 2 (inc.) & 3] (Parker) 3:21
3 Barbados [take 4 (master)] (Parker) 2:28
4 Ah-Leu-Cha [take 1 (inc.) & 2 (master)] (Parker) 3:32
5 Constellation [take 1 (inc.) & 2] (Parker) 2!52
6 Constellation [take 3 (inc.)] (Parker) 2:06
7 Constellation [take 4 (inc.) & 5 (master)] (Parker) 2:48
8 Parker's Mood [take 1 (false start) & 2] (Parker) 3:33
9 Parker's Mood [take 3 (false start) & 4 (inc.)] (Parker) 2:26
10 Parker's Mood [take 5 (master)] (Parker) 3:03

Personnel
Charlie Parker All Stars
Miles Davis - tp
Charlie Parker - as
John Lewis - p
Curley Russell - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded at Harry Smith Studios, New York City ; September 18, 1948

11 Perhaps [take 1] (Parker) 2:03
12 Perhaps [take 2 (inc.) & 3] (Parker) 2:36
13 Perhaps [take 4, 5 (inc.) & 6] (Parker) 3:24
14 Perhaps [take 7 (master)] (Parker) 2:34
15 Marmaduke [take 1 (false start), 2 & 3 (inc.)] (Parker) 2:13
16 Marmaduke [take 4 (false start) & 5] (Parker) 2:58
17 Marmaduke [take 6 (false start), 7 (inc.), 8/9 (8: false start)] (Parker) 4:16
18 Marmaduke [take 10, 11 (inc.) & 12 (master)] (Parker) 4:08
19 Steeplechase [take 1 (false start) & 2 (master)] (Parker) 3:13
20 Merry Go Round [take 1] (Parker) 2:20
21 Merry Go Round [take 2 (master)] (Parker) 2:27

Personnel
Charlie Parker All Stars
Same as above ; same place ; September 24, 1948


Cd. 4
1 52nd Street Theme (Monk) 5:02
2 Koko (Parker) 2:31
3 Groovin' High (Gillespie) 4:48
4 Big Foot (Parker) 4:42
5 Ornithology (Parker, Harris) 5:37
6 Slow Boat To China (Loesser) 5:04
7 Hot House (Dameron) 4:21
8 Salt Peanuts (Gillespie, Clarke) 3:48
9 Chasin' the Bird (Parker) 4:21
10 Out of Nowhere (Heyman, Green) 3:17
11 How High the Moon (Hamilton, Lewis) 2:56

Personnel
Charlie Parker All-Stars
Miles Davis - tp
Charlie Parker - as & vcl [# 8]
Tadd Dameron - p [# 1 & 2]
Al Haig - p [# 3-11]
Curley Russel - b
Tommy Potter - b
Max Roach - dr
Recorded live at the Royal Roost, New York ; September 4, 1948 [# 1 & 3] ; December 11, 1948 [# 3-6] ; December 12 [# 7 & 8] & 18, 1948 [# 9-11]


Cd. 5
1 Sid's Theme (Young) 1:39
2 Half Nelson (Davis) 4:28
3 White Christmas (Berlin) 4:47
4 Little Willie Leaps (Davis) 3:38
5 Be-Bop (Young, Gillespie) 3:48
6 On a Slow Boat To China (Loesser) 4:17
7 Ornithology (Parker, Harris) 4:43
8 Groovin' High (Gillespie) 4;48
9 East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) (Bowman) 4:38
10 Cheryl (Parker) 4:20
11 How High the Moon (Hamilton, Lewis) 4:48

Personnel
[# 1-11] Charlie Parker All-Stars
Kenny Dorham - tp
Charlie Parker - as
Al Haig - p
Tommy Potter - b
Max Roach - dr [# 1-4]
Joe Harris - dr [# 5-10]
Recorded live at the Royal Roost, New York ; December 25, 1948 [#1-4] & January 11, 1949 [# 5-10]
[# 11] Jam Session
Conte Candoli - tp
Bennie Green - tb
Charlie Parker - as
Flip Philips, Charlie Ventura - ts
Al Haig - p
Curley Russell - b
Tommy Potter - b
Joe Harris, Shelly Manne or Ed Shaugnessy - dr
Recorded same place and date as above


Cd. 6
1 Announcer 1:00
2 Scrapple From the Apple (Parker) 4:09
3 Be-Bop (Gillespie) 3:25
4 Hot House (Parker) 5:11
5 Oop Bop Sh'Bam (Fuller, Roberts, Gillespie) 4:55
6 Scrapple From the Apple (Parker) 4:33
7 Salt Peanuts (Gillespie, Clarke) 4:42
8 Groovin' High (Gillespie) 3:42
9 Scrapple From the Apple (Parker) 3:26
10 Barbados (Parker) 3:48
11 Salt Peanuts (Gillespie, Clarke) 5:03
12 Scrapple From the Apple (Parker) 4:32
13 Barbados (Parker) 3:49
14 Be-Bop (Gillespie) 4:08

Personnel
Charlie Parker All-Stars
Kenny Dorham - tp
Charlie Parker - as
Al Haig - p
Tommy Potter - b
Joe Harris - dr [# 2-4]
Max Roach - dr [# 5-14]
Recorded live at the Royal Roost, New York ; January 15, [# 1-4], 22, [# 5-7] & 29, 1949 [# 8] ; February 5 [# 9-11] & 12, 1949 [# 11-14]


Cd. 7
1 Groovin' High (Gillespie) 4:54
2 Confirmation (Parker) 3:54
3 Salt Peanuts (Gillespie, Clarke) 4:34
4 Commercial break (Garrity, Symphony Sid) 4:04
5 Half-Nelson (Davis) 3:27
6 A Night in Tunisia (Gillespie, Paparelli) 4:37
7 Scrapple From the Apple (Parker) 4:39
8 Deedle (unknown) 1:59
9 What's This ? (Lambert) 2:14
10 Cheryl (Parker) 3:42
11 Anthropology (Gillespie, Parker) 5:07
12 Hurry Home (Bernier, Emmerich, Meyer) 2:23
13 Deedle (unknown) 2:05
14 Royal Roost Bop (unknown) 2:11
15 Cheryl (Parker) 3:24
16 On a Slow Boat to China (Loesser) 3:40
17 Chasin' the Bird (Parker) 6:38

Personnel
[# 1-3] Charlie Parker All-Stars
Same as above, except
Marx Roach - dr, replaces Harris
Recorded same place as above ; Feburay 19, 1949
[# 5-17] Charlie Parker All-Stars
Same as above, except
Lucky Thompson - ts [# 5-7, 10, 11, 15 & 17]
Milt Jackson - vb [# 5-7, 10, 11]
Dave Lambert - vcl [# 8, 9 & 13]
Buddy Stewart - vcl [# 8, 9, 12 & 13]
Recorded live at the Royal Roost, New York ; Feburay 26, 1949 [# 5-9] ; March 5 [#10-14] & 12, 1949 [# 15-17]


Cd. 8
1 Dizzy's Boogie [take 2 (master)] (Gaillard) 3:06
2 Dizzy's Boogie [take 1] (Gaillard) 3:15
3 Flat Foot Floogie [take 2 (master)] (Gaillard, Stewart) 2:30
4 Flat Foot Floogie [take 1] (Gaillard, Stewart) 2:45
5 Poppity Pop (Gaillard) 2:55
6 Slim's Jam (Gaillard) 3:29

Personnel
Slim Gaillard & His Orchestra
Dizzy Gillespie - tp & tlk [# 6]
Charlie Parker - as & tlk [# 6]
Slim Gaillard - g, except [# 1 & 2]
Jack McVea - ts & tlk [# 6]
Dodo Marmarosa - p
Tiny Bam Brown - b & vcl [# 3, 4 & 5]
Zutty Singleton - dr
Recorded in Hollywood ; prob. December 29, 1945

7 A Night in Tunisia (Gillespie, Paparelli) 5:09
8 Dizzy Atmosphere (Gillespie) 4:05
9 Groovin' High (Gillespie) 5:13
10 Confirmation (Parker) 5:35
11 Koko (Parker) 4:10

Personnel
Dizzy Gillespie - tp
Charlie Parker - as
John Lewis - p
Al McKibbon - b
Joe Harris - dr
Recorded at Carnegie Hall, New York ; September 29, 1947

12 There's a Small Hotel (Rodgers, Hart) 6:11
13 These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) (Strachey, Marvell, Link) 2:06
14 Keen and Peachy (Burns, Rogers) 6:29
15 Hot House (Dameron) 9:00
16 Bird, Bass and Out (Freeman, Pie) 3:34
17 Goodbye (Jenkins) 3:08

Personnel
Charlie Parker - as
Claude McLin - ts
George Freeman - g
Chris Anderson - p
Leroy Jackson - b
Bruz Freeman - dr
Recorded at the Pershing Ballroom, Chicago ; Fall 1950