Charlie Parker Quintet with Miles Davis: Complete Studio Masters

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Tommy Potter (b)
Max Roach (d)
Bud Powell (p)
Nelson Boyd (b)
Miles Davis (t)
Walter Bishop Jr. (p)
Charlie Parker (as)
John Lewis (p)
Curly Russell (b)
Duke Jordan (p)
Teddy Kotick (b)
Dizzy Gillespie (t)

Label:

Jazz Images

June/2019

Media Format:

CD

Catalogue Number:

38118

RecordDate:

1945-51

The operative word here is “masters” – in other words, the originally issued sides from nine quintet sessions and a couple of sextet dates. These were mainly for the Dial and Savoy labels with a handful of dates for Clef/Mercury in 1951. But what Savoy and Dial have done over the years is to have released the entire sessions, so for example there are actually five issued takes of the opening ‘Billie's Bounce’ and the same applies to the majority of the other 51 tracks here. So, despite this label's accustomed high standard of visual presentation (with some excellent shots of the band by photographer Bill Gottlieb), we only get what the 78rpm-buying public would have had available at the time. If all you want is a chronological snapshot of the Miles/Bird relationship, with none of the live sessions, this does the job, allowing you to trace the young trumpeter's ascent. But if you really want to get to grips with the dynamic musical relationship between the two, then you need to seek out the French complete edition of Parker on Frémeaux, or the previously issued Savoy and Dial collections. Needless to say there's some great playing from all concerned on these sides, but as a “complete” collection it falls short.

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