Smith & Co

It’s generally accepted that Bird was at his peak during the years he recorded for Savoy, certainly this was the period that he exerted the greatest impact on jazz, and jazz musicians, so the larger part of this collective comes from those years, leading up to his last session in September 1948. “Lover Man” is possibly still Parker’s most misconstrued recording, done in Los Angeles for Dial Records in July 1946, seen as the worst and the greatest recording of his career, depending on the side of the fence one sits. He was in a great deal of distress when he recorded it, strung out from a lack of his needed heroine, some refer to the sheer beauty of his pain, whilst Parker himself hated the recording so much, he wanted the masters tapes burnt. The “Charlie Parker with Strings” album is only represented by one track on this selection. Although by far the best selling title during his lifetime, it was thought important to show how beautiful and skilful Parker’s playing was, but it was also decided that these recordings didn’t fit the “bebop” definition as wholly as his work with smaller jazz ensembles.

1. Tiny’s Tempo
2. Red Cross
3. Billie’s Bounce
4. Warming Up A Riff
5. Now’s The Time
6. Ko Ko
7. Moose The Mooche
8. Yardbird Suite
9. Ornithology
10. A Night In Tunisia
11. Lover Man
12. Bird’s Nest
13. Hot Blues
14. Relaxin’ At Camarillo
15. Donna Lee
16. Chasin’ The Bird
17. Dewey Square
18. The Hymn
19. Bird Of Paradise
20. Embraceable You
21. My Old Flame
22. Out Of Nowhere
23. Don’t Blame Me
24. Klact-Oveeseds-Tene

1. Drifting On A Reed
2. Bongo Beep
3. How Deep Is The Ocean
4. Another Hair Do
5. Bird Gets The Worm
6. Barbados
7. Parker’s Mood
8. Marmaduke
9. Merry-Go-Round
10. The Bird
11. Mango Mangue
12. Segment
13. Passport
14. Just Friends
15. Star Eyes
16. Blues (Fast)
17. Au Private
18. She Rote
19. KC Blues
20. My Little Suede Shoes
21. Blues For Alice
22. Si Si
23. Swedish Schnapps
24. Back Home Blues