colinmce Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) I'm sure this thread has been done before, but if you'll humor me, I'm wondering if there are any particularly notable Bird CDs you'd recommend for someone such as myself who already has the following: Label Box Sets: -Complete Savoy & Dial (official Savoy and Stash issues, respectively) -Complete Verve (official issue) -Complete Live Performances on Savoy (official issue) Blue Note Issue CDs: -Washington Concerts -Bird At The Hi Hat -Bird & Diz At Carnegie Hall -Charlie Parker At Storyville Various other: -The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall -Charlie Parker (Bird At St. Nicks/Bird On 52nd Street) -Live Performances (ESP) -Rara Avis (Stash) -Bird You Never Heard (Stash) -Town Hall, New York City June 22, 1945 (Uptown) Not looking to go the total completist route, but always open to having more to hear. Edited March 24, 2021 by colinmce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 Freestyle time, baby! although, no idea how it comes now, but the Open Door stuff is exquisite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmce Posted March 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 16 minutes ago, felser said: Definitely have this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 yeah, get that, THEN start freestyling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 This would be a good supplement to what you have: A 4-CD set from Proper. You'd get early recordings from 1942 and 1943, stuff from L.A. in 1945 and 1946, the "One Night In Birdland" material, Carnegie Hall in 1949 with Red Rodney, Birdland with Dizzy from 1951, and some Rockland Palace material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) If you ever see this for a reasonable price get it. Since that's unlikely to happen get this: Edited March 23, 2021 by medjuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 This is the Open Door set I've got, 2CDs: https://www.discogs.com/Charlie-Parker-At-The-Open-Door/release/10622622 https://www.amazon.com/At-Open-Door-Charlie-Parker/dp/B000050IG7 http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/BirdDisco.aspx?id=ParkerOpenDoor 1953 was a pretty magic year for Bird overall, the Verve records don't really do that justice. If you want to do a deep dive, use this as a guide: http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/BirdQuery.aspx Truth be told, though, if it's Bird, get it. He's one of the very few people in any walk of life to whom the word "genius" truly applies. Not always "perfect", but always genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 What he said. I once thought of starting a thread about what Bird records were not worth hearing but I couldn't think of any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 7 minutes ago, medjuck said: If you ever see this for a reasonable price get it. Snsd since that's unlikely to happen get this: Yeah, that too. That Ember Birdland set (which I don't have, arrrgh) is some simply wondermous packaging, even if there's no place for it on any rational shelving system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 23, 2021 Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 32 minutes ago, medjuck said: What he said. I once thought of starting a thread about what Bird records were not worth hearing but I couldn't think of any. Cumulatively. the later strings sessions kind of numb me after a while, but any given track is delightful enough for me. Again, thre are some very VERY good Mercury Verve sides, but on the whole, the best of those years seems to have been done live. No idea what's out there now, probably a whole new generation of newly new stuff, but in the LP/early CD days, hell, unless it was obviously something l already had...buy first, figure it out later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 This set is nutso on Amazon but the music is spectacular - snoop around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) I’d also recommend these but if I was going to recommend only two, I’d say get the Jass and Stash one Charlie Parker - Boston 1952 - Uptown Records 27.42 Charlie Parker - The Complete “Birth of the Bebop” - Stash 535 Charlie Parker – Montreal 1953 – Uptown 27.36 Charlie Parker - One Night in Birdland - Sony Records Charlie Parker and the Stars of Modern Jazz at Carnegie Hall, Christmas 1949 (Jass Records 16) Depending on how deep you want to go there’s also Jay McShann and Red Norvo material. Edited March 24, 2021 by Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gheorghe Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) How about "Bird at St. Nick´s" ? Though the solos of the other musicians were edited, this is Bird at his best. And he is wonderful on those ballads, which he didn´t play often "Smoke Get´s in Your Eyes", "What´s New", "I didn´t know what time it was"....... really wonderful Edited March 24, 2021 by Gheorghe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romualdo Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 Second the Open Door, Rockland Palace. The Tristano/Parker material is also a favourite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmce Posted March 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 7 hours ago, Gheorghe said: How about "Bird at St. Nick´s" ? Though the solos of the other musicians were edited, this is Bird at his best. And he is wonderful on those ballads, which he didn´t play often "Smoke Get´s in Your Eyes", "What´s New", "I didn´t know what time it was"....... really wonderful Knew I was forgetting something! I do have this on the Prestige twofer CD with Bird On 52nd St. Much appreciation for the various recommendations! Some good leads to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhatta Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) My personal favorites are Rockland Palace (an incredible Lester Leaps In!) , Summit Meeting/One Night At Birdland (wonderful Bud & Diz/Fats too) and Bird at St. Nicks (some vintage Bird solos). Also, I like the so-called "the Apartment Jam Sessions". Sounds awful, but it still contains very relaxed but intense Bird playing. I think Bird's Eye CD Vol. 12 contains most of it. Edited March 24, 2021 by mhatta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 With Rockland Palace, make sure you get a speed-corrected version. Some run fast. But past that, another no-brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 Also: At Cafe Society Downtown and Birdland (Ember) New Bird (Royal Roost performances not on the Savoy box) Both are absurdly priced on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 Alamac LPs can bring you some true delights...they turn up in odd places at oddly affordable prices...Café Society, Carnegie Hall (w/Rodney), Sweden, Bird with the Herd, Alamac is a garden of bootleg delights for the diligent jazz record collector. It's all been on CD, but at what price today, it varies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverM Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 Interesting recommendations which I was also inspired by. Just purchased one of those Ember Birdland longboxes locally at a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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