No doubt we can expect a few Parker compilations in his centenary year, but this is a strange one. The opening 12 tracks correspond to his first posthumous 12-inch LP from Savoy, four of them being the Miles-led tracks with Bird on tenor and leading off the entire collection with ‘Little Willie Leaps’. Also, despite retaining the iconic cover design, the ‘reissue’ departs from the original, explaining that the LP “included a few alternate takes… We have preferred instead to present just the master takes and add as many Savoy master takes from other tunes as possible.” In this they appear to have been successful, although the contents are jumbled chronologically with the original LP also containing the two Parker instrumentals from guitarist Tiny Grimes’ 1944 session, while AJC’s additions include ‘Meandering’ which was not a master take but an informal, incomplete improv from the ‘Ko-Ko’ sesion (see Jazzwise 249). The accompanying text isn’t entirely reliable either, claiming that this 1947 ‘Milestones’ – actually composed by John Lewis – is the same as Miles’ 1958 tune! Still, if you’re testing the historical waters with your very first Parker CD, music such as ‘Ko-Ko’ and ‘Parker’s Mood’ will doubtless override criticism of the presentation.