Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Collection

Read About This Recording

Charlie Parker was one of the most important jazz musicians of all time, and arguably (along with John Coltrane) jazz's greatest saxophonist. Parker (who was known as Bird since his teenage years) not only mastered the alto-saxophone but came up with a new musical vocabulary. He was ultimately so influential that even his throwaway phrases were copied by the generations that followed him. In addition, he could play incredibly fast solos in which every note somehow fit.

Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1920. He was so attracted to the jazz scene and after-hours scene in nearby Kansas City, Missouri, as a young teenager that he dropped out of school. Not much of a musician at the time, he was originally laughed out of a few jam sessions. However, a summer spent woodshedding on his horn and studying the recorded solos of Lester Young resulted in his tremendous improvement in a brief period of time. By the late 1930s, he was a star soloist with Jay McShann's big band. Parker went with McShann to New York in the early 1940s, met trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and continued developing both his remarkable technique and his very original approach to chordal improvisation. After stints with the modern big bands of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine, in 1945 Bird and Diz teamed up to revolutionize jazz and amaze the music world.

Yardbird Suite, a two-CD set, has most of the recorded highpoints of Charlie Parker's career, dating from 1945-52, drawing its material from the catalogs of Guild, Musicraft, Savoy, Dial and Clef (which later became Verve). The 38 selections include such classics as Groovin' High, Dizzy Atmosphere, Salt Peanuts, Hot House, Ko Ko, Yardbird Suite, Ornithology, Scrapple From The Apple, Parker's Mood, Star Eyes, My Little Suede Shoes and Confirmation. In addition, there are live numbers with Gillespie and pianist Bud Powell, and four concert performances from Parker with a string section. Gillespie, Powell, trumpeter Miles Davis and trombonist J.J. Johnson also have their feature spots.

Charlie Parker's personal excesses resulted in his premature death in 1955 at the age of 34. However, his innovations can still be heard in today's jazz players, making the phrase Bird Lives eternally accurate. Yardbird Suite serves as a perfect introduction to the recordings of this jazz giant.

-Scott Yanow

Contents

Groovin' High; All The Things You Are; Dizzy Atmosphere; Salt Peanuts; Shaw 'Nuff; Hot House; Now's The Time; Ko Ko; Moose The Mooche; Yardbird Suite; Ornithology; Cool Blues; Relaxin' At Carmarillo; Donna Lee; Chasing The Bird; Dewey Square; Bird Of Paradise; The Hymn; Embraceable You; Klactoveedsedstene; Scrapple From The Apple; Out Of Nowhere; Don't Blame Me; Quasimodo; Klaunstance; Parker's Mood; Bloomdido; Star Eyes; She Rote; My Little Suede Shoes; Confirmation; Blue 'N' Boogie; 'Round Midnight; Night In Tunisia; Just Friends; What Is This Thing Called Love?; East Of The Sun; Laura.

Charlie Parker, Sax; Dizzy Gillespie Sextet; Charlie Parker's Ri Bop Boys, Charlie Parker's Septet, Vocals; Charlie Parker Quartet; Charlie Parker All-Stars; Charlie Parker's Quintet; Charlie Parker & His Orchestra; Charlie Parker With His Quintet & Strings.