Charlie Parker - Portrait
Label : Past Perfect
Released : 2000
Recorded : 1941-1952
Format : [email protected]
The only child of Charles and Addie Parker, Charlie Parker was one of the most important and influential saxophonists and jazz players of the 1940’s.
When Parker was still a child, his family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where jazz, blues and gospel music were flourishing. His first contact with music came from school, where he played baritone horn with the school’s band. When he was 15, he showed a great interest in music and a love for the alto saxophone. Soon, Parker was playing with local bands until 1935, when he left school to pursue a music career.
From 1935 to 1939, Parker worked in Kansas City with several local jazz and blues bands from which he developed his art. In 1939, Parker visited New York for the first time, and he stayed for nearly a year working as a professional musician and often participating in jam sessions. The New York atmosphere greatly influenced Parker's musical style.
In 1938, Parker joined the band of pianist Jay McShann, with whom he toured around Southwest Chicago and New York. A year later, Parker traveled to Chicago and was a regular performer at a club on 55th street. Parker soon moved to New York. He washed dishes at a local food place where he met guitarist Biddy Fleet, the man who taught him about instrumental harmony. Shortly afterwards, Parker returned to Kansas City to attend his father’s funeral. Once there, he joined Harlan Leonard’s Rockets and stayed for five months. In 1939, Yardbird rejoined McShann and was placed in charge of the reed section. Then, in 1940, Parker made his first recording with the McShann orchestra.
During the four years that Parker stayed with McShann's band, he got the opportunity to perform solo in several of their recordings, such as Hootie Blues, Sepian Bounce, and the 1941 hit Confessing the Blues. In 1942, while on tour with McShann, Parker performed in jam sessions at Monroe’s and Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem. There he caught the attention of up-and-coming jazz artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. Later that year, Parker broke with McShann and joined Earl Hines for eight months.
The year 1945 was extremely important for Parker. During that time he led his own group in New York and also worked with Gillespie in several ensembles. In December, Parker and Gillespie took their music to Hollywood on a six-week nightclub tour. Parker continued to perform in Los Angeles until June 1946, when he suffered a nervous breakdown and was confined at a state hospital. After his release in January 1947, Parker returned to New York and formed a quintet that performed some of his most famous tunes.
From 1947 to 1951, Parker worked in a number of nightclubs, radio studios, and other venues performing solo or with the accompaniment of other musicians. During this time, he visited Europe where he was cheered by devoted fans and did numerous recordings. March 5, 1955, was Parker’s last public engagement at Birdland, a nightclub in New York that was named in his honor. He died a week later in a friend’s apartment.
Charles "Yardbird" Parker was an amazing saxophonist who gained wide recognition for his brilliant solos and innovative improvisations. He was, without a doubt, one of the most influential and talented musicians in jazz history.
Disc 1: Groovin' High 1 Swingmatism 2:40 2 The Jumpin's Blues 3:04 3 Tiny's Tempo 2:53 4 I'll Always Love You 2:59 5 Romance Without Finance 3:01 6 Red Cross 3:06 7 Dream of You 2:50 8 Groovin' High 2:38 9 Dizzy Atmosphere 2:45 10 All the Things You Are 2:45 11 Salt Peanuts 3:14 12 Shaw 'Nuff 2:58 13 Hot House 3:07 14 Hallelujah 3:58 15 Get Happy 3:40 16 Slam Slam Blues 4:26 17 Congo Blues 3:51 18 Takin' Off 3:07 19 20th Century Blues 2:53 20 The Street Beat 2:31
Disc 2: Now's the Time 1 Warming Up a Riff 2:32 2 Billie's Bounce 3:08 3 Now's the Time 3:14 4 Thriving on a Riff 2:53 5 Meandering 3:15 6 Ko-Ko 2:53 7 Dizzy's Boogie 3:08 8 Flat Floot Floogie 2:31 9 Poppity Pop 2:56 10 Slim's Jam 3:13 11 Diggin' Diz 2:51 12 Moose the Mooche 3:02 13 Yardbird Suite 2:54 14 Ornithology 2:59 15 Night in Tunisia 3:02 16 Max (Is) Making Wax 2:30 17 Lover Man 3:19 18 The Gypsy 3:02 19 Be-Bop 2:53 20 This Is Always 3:13
Disc 3: Bird of Paradise 1 Dark Shadows 3:04 2 Bird's Nest 2:42 3 Cool Blues 3:07 4 Relaxin' at Camarillo 3:05 5 Cheers 3:04 6 Carvin' the Bird 2:44 7 Stupendous 2:53 8 Donna Lee 2:31 9 Chasin' the Bird 2:42 10 Cheryl 2:56 11 Buzzy 2:26 12 Milestones 2:34 13 Little Willie Leaps 2:48 14 Half Nelson 2:41 15 Slippin' at Bells 2:20 16 Dexterity 2:58 17 Bongo Bop 2:44 18 Dewey Square 3:07 19 The Hymn 2:31 20 Bird of Paradise 3:10
Disc 4: Blue Bird 1 Embraceable You 3:22 2 Bird Feathers 2:51 3 Klact-Oveeseds-Tene 3:05 4 Scrapple From the Apple 2:57 5 My Old Flame 3:13 6 Out of Nowhere 3:05 7 Don't Blame Me 2:46 8 Drifting on a Reed 2:55 9 Quasimodo 2:52 10 Charlie's Wig 2:42 11 Bongo Beep 2:57 12 Crazeology 2:57 13 How Deep Is the Ocean? 3:23 14 Another Hair-Do 2:36 15 Blue Bird 2:48 16 Klaunstance 2:43 17 Bird Gets the Worm 2:33 18 Barbados 2:27 19 Ah-Leu-Cha 2:53 20 Constellation 2:25
Disc 5: Parker's Mood 1 Parker's Mood 3:01 2 Perhaps 2:33 3 Marmaduke 2:41 4 Steeplechase 3:03 5 Merry-Go-Round 2:25 6 Segment 3:19 7 Cardboard 3:08 8 Passport 2:57 9 Star Eyes 3:27 10 Ballade 2:54 11 Bloomdido 3:25 12 My Melancholy Baby 3:24 13 Relaxin' With Lee 2:46 14 Leap Frog 2:29 15 An Oscar for Treadwell 3:23 16 Mohawk 3:35 17 My Melancholy Baby 3:17 18 Relaxin' With Lee 3:56 19 Overtime 3:07 20 Victory Ball 2:40
Disc 6: Confirmation 1 Oh, Lady, Be Good! 11:03 2 A Night in Tunisia 5:12 3 Dizzy Atmosphere 4:03 4 Groovin' High 5:16 5 Confirmation 5:36 6 Ko-Ko 4:12 7 Embraceable You 10:32 8 Ornithology 4:24 9 Cheryl 5:01 10 Ko-Ko 5:03 11 Bird of Paradise 6:07 12 Now's the Time 5:14
Disc 7: What's New 1 Sweet Georgia Brown (Part 1+2) 9:38 2 Lady Be Good (Part 1+2) 11:11 3 Ballad Medley 17:24 a. All the Things You Are b. Dearly Beloved c. The Nearness of You d. I'll Get By e. Everything Happens to Me f. The Man I Love g. What's New h. Someone to Watch Over Me i. Isn't It Romantic? 4 What Is This Thing Called Love? 15:51 5 Jam Blues 14:42
Disc 8: Fiesta 1 Mango Mangue 2:54 2 No Noise (Part 1+2) 5:53 3 My Little Suede Shoes 3:04 4 Okiedoke 3:03 5 Un poquito de tu amor 2:41 6 Why Do I Love You? 3:06 7 Tico-Tico 2:43 8 Fiesta 2:50 9 Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite 17:14 a. Introduction - Cancion b. Mambo c. Transition d. Introduction to 6/8 e. 6/8 f. Transition and Jazz g. Rhumba abierta (Part 1) h. Coda 10 La cucaracha 2:43 11 Mama Inez 2:50 12 Estrellita 2:43 13 La Paloma 2:40 14 Begin the Beguine 3:11
Disc 9: Star Eyes 1 The Opener 12:39 2 Lover Man 3:22 3 Swedish Schnapps 3:14 4 Blues for Alice 2:46 5 K. C. Blues 3:25 6 She Rote 3:09 7 Star Eyes 3:34 8 Funky Blues 13:27 9 I Can't Get Started 3:08 10 What Is This Thing Called Love? 2:36
Disc 10: Just Friends 1 Easy to Love 3:29 2 Summertime 2:45 3 I Didn't Know What Time It Was 3:12 4 If I Should Lose You 2:46 5 Just Friends 3:30 6 Everything Happens to Me 3:15 7 I'm in the Mood for Love 3:34 8 I'll Remember April 3:02 9 Dancing in the Dark 3:10 10 Out of Nowhere 3:06 11 Laura 2:57 12 East of the Sun 3:39 13 They Can't Take That Away From Me 3:18 14 Temptation 3:31 15 Lover 3:06 16 Autumn in New York 3:29 17 Stella by Starlight 2:56
