The short-lived Dial label is justly hallowed, above all for seven studio sessions led by Charlie Parker. Started in early 1946 by Ross Russell, who subsequently wrote the first Bird biog, it also acquired (from an even shorterlived label) the 1945 date with Parker and Gillespie led by Red Norvo, and a home-recorded session done after Bird's release from Camarillo. All these have been reissued by numerous labels including the UK-based Spotlite, owner of the Dial archive who leased it to others such as Savoy and now Mosaic. The Parker stuff is still riveting (from his contribution to Norvo's ‘Hallelujah’ to his version of ‘How Deep Is The Ocean’) but, even with all its fascinating and varied alternate takes, it's only half of what's here. As the above selective personnel list indicates, there was much of interest going on, such as Gillespie's West Coast sextet without Bird, a small-group from the Woody Herman band, sessions fronted by Howard McGhee, Dexter Gordon and pianists Erroll Garner and Dodo Marmarosa, which all bear investigation. Fortunately the remastering on the Parkers is superior (as a result of the attentions invested in them over the years), while the variable sound elsewhere doesn't detract from the historical interest of the material.