Charlie Parker didn't invent the idea of releasing the alternate takes that occur, for musical or technical reasons, during studio sessions. But his producers first at Dial and then, after his premature death, Savoy and Verve, certainly popularised the idea. Savoy's addition of incomplete takes and false starts wasn't taken up by Verve until as late as 1990, when reissue specialist Phil Schaap's 10CD box was deemed to have used all of their surviving scraps of Parker material. Since the death of Verve producer Norman Granz, however, more turned up and, after being sold to Universal, formed the basis of last year's ‘deluxe edition’ of Parker With Strings and the present set, which does finally mop up all the remaining material. It's by no means all scraps and cutting-room-floor stuff, since there are some 19 new complete takes, from nearly all of Parker's non-strings sessions for Granz. That includes different versions of known material with Machito, the Kenny Dorham quintet, the Dizzy-Thelonious quintet, the latin small-group and the studio big-band (plus a further smidgen with the strings). So, in addition to copious incomplete performances and brief false starts, we have whole new solos – including those of sidemen – and whole new ideas within solos. One of the most surprising findings is that all the early takes of ‘Blues (Fast)’ with Hank Jones and Buddy Rich (including two unknown complete versions) begin with a strange, un-riff-like repeated phrase that was abandoned before the issued take. But there's lots more to ponder and, to add to a sense of completeness, each title heard through new attempts is also presented in its final issued form. Discovering what dissatisfied Parker among his fertile ideas, and also what he deemed suitable for release, is a lesson as well as a pleasure.