Mercury/Verve Archive

Charlie Parker – Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes – Mercury/Verve (2 discs)

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 23, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

A 2-CD issue sure to appeal to “Bird” completists… Charlie Parker – Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes – Mercury/Verve B0024802-02 (1949-1952) – CD 1: 78:49, CD 2: 78:50 ***1/2: (Charlie Parker – alto sax; with accompanying artists including: Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Harris, Al Porcino – trumpets; Tommy Turk, Bill Harris, Bart Varsalona – trombones; Flip Phillips, Danny Bank – saxophones; Al Haig, Walter Bishop, Jr, Thelonious Monk, Hank Jones, Oscar Peterson – piano; Freddie Green – guitar; Tommy Potter, Curly Russell, Ray Brown, Teddy Kotick – bass; Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Roy Haynes, Don Lamond – drums; Machito, Carlos Vidal, Jose Mangual, Luis Miranda – Latin percussion) There are jazz completists, and then there are Charlie Parker completists. To call the later obsessive, may be an understatement. When you think of Parker as one of the top five jazz geniuses of all time, time spent collecting and listening to ALL of his recorded takes is both a scholarly and deeply satisfying experience. One would think that over six decades later that all of Bird’s recordings would have been issued. Nearly all have been, but the well has not gone bone dry. Take the case with Parker’s Verve-issued tracks […]