Bird on Savoy, Dial

[Late]

For a one-disc Dial collection, this one's actually pretty good:

It's one of Peter Pfister's last master jobs for Hat.

[jazz man]

22 hours ago, jazzbo said:

If you want to get it all in one whack, that set is probably your best bet. There are other releases I think might sound a bit better on cd, for example all the Bird material that Savoy/Denon Japan released I personally prefer for Savoy, but that's a lot of discs not assembled in a set, and does not have the Dial material. The Spotlite might be the best way to go for Dial.

In my opinion now, decades after scurrying and collecting the material, the differences in most of the releases is not VAST and for listening and studying and enjoying Bird most will suffice. . . with that Atlantic/Savoy set probably the most sensible score.

Good to know, thanks! Which Savoy/Denon Japan releases should I be on the look out for to cover the Savoy sides?

[Late]

[jazzbo]

24 minutes ago, jazz man said:

Good to know, thanks! Which Savoy/Denon Japan releases should I be on the look out for to cover the Savoy sides?

https://www.discogs.com/release/11811716-Charlie-Parker-Newly-Discovered-Sides-By-The-Immortal-Charlie-Parker

https://www.discogs.com/release/11809769-Charlie-Parker-The-Charlie-Parker-Story

https://www.discogs.com/release/26558309-Charlie-Parker-Charlie-Parker-Memorial-Vol-1

https://www.discogs.com/release/10821061-Charlie-Parker-The-Genius-Of-Charlie-Parker

https://www.discogs.com/release/3079501-Charlie-Parker-Charlie-Parker-Memorial-Vol-2

https://www.discogs.com/release/11463434-Charlie-Parker-An-Evening-At-Home-With-The-Bird

That's most of them, if not all. 

 

 

[Holy Ghost]

1 hour ago, Late said:

👍 Yes.  This set sums it up for me. Spinning it right now. 

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Certainly, and agreed about a set made up ONLY of one alternate of each would not mean a loss of quality overall (and no loss of listening enjoyment, particularly to newbies with "fresh ears"). But taking this idea one step further, this would require identifying them as such anyway. Because the MASTER takes still are out there.

So what would we have, then? 
- A potential set of master takes (which already exists but will continue to exist)
- A potential set of alternates (ie. one alternate of each). Certainly an interesting package. 
But how to call this? "Bird - The complete preferred alternates"??  Hmmm ... 
(Because like I said I see no way of not labeling them as alternates at all, unless you're fine with muddling it all up ...)

I'd not venture a guess about what the "typical suspects" among the Birdophiles would reply. Particularly those who'd clamor again to go the whole way when digging into the alternates. And as the discographies tell us that NOT EACH Bird tune recorded on Dial and Savoy has at least three alternates, what would be next? How to label them NOT as something like "The complete alternate alternates" if you want to avoid resorting to something like "The connoisseur leftovers" or "Scraping the Bird barrel" or ...?  
(A fun thought, but also food for thought ...)

 

Let's not overthink this. Such as set would only need to be constructed by the individual user, pulled out of a "complete" set. Simple as that 

All of the richness of Bird with none of the "redundancy" of consecutive takes of the same tune.

So buy a/some complete sets, then chop it/them up.. Win/win!!!!!

 

[jazz man]

6 hours ago, jazzbo said:

https://www.discogs.com/release/11811716-Charlie-Parker-Newly-Discovered-Sides-By-The-Immortal-Charlie-Parker

https://www.discogs.com/release/11809769-Charlie-Parker-The-Charlie-Parker-Story

https://www.discogs.com/release/26558309-Charlie-Parker-Charlie-Parker-Memorial-Vol-1

https://www.discogs.com/release/10821061-Charlie-Parker-The-Genius-Of-Charlie-Parker

https://www.discogs.com/release/3079501-Charlie-Parker-Charlie-Parker-Memorial-Vol-2

https://www.discogs.com/release/11463434-Charlie-Parker-An-Evening-At-Home-With-The-Bird

That's most of them, if not all. 

 

Thank you! Although, am I missing something or is there no individual Savoy/Denon disc that features the Tiny Grimes Quintet sides?

Edited yesterday at 01:44 AM by jazz man

[Holy Ghost]

11 hours ago, JSngry said:

Make a Bird compilation of only alternates, one per tune.

Pretty good record!

Maybe on to something, that could be a 2-CD set.

[Chuck Nessa]

1 hour ago, jazz man said:

Thank you! Although, am I missing something or is there no individual Savoy/Denon disc that features the Tiny Grimes Quintet sides?

They are in the first disc of this series -

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, Holy Ghost said:

Maybe on to something, that could be a 2-CD set.

The Lord helps those who help themselves.

[Holy Ghost]

21 minutes ago, JSngry said:

The Lord helps those who help themselves.

Amen. 

[jazzbo]

6 hours ago, jazz man said:

Thank you! Although, am I missing something or is there no individual Savoy/Denon disc that features the Tiny Grimes Quintet sides?

I think you are right, there is no cd with those tracks in that series. I think they were only originally released on 78s, without a 'fifties LP reissue--that series from Denon Japan was reissuing former LPs. Chuck is right that they are on that cd which is not part of the series.

Edited yesterday at 07:51 AM by jazzbo

[mikeweil]

I enjoyed this one as an alternative to the complete sets, it covers the arly career including sideman dates in good remasterings.

As I already had the Complete Savoy box on LP and all the Spotlite LPs including those with recordingd beyond the Dial label, it was a satisfying choice on CD. But I also have the two Ezzthetics discs.

[Brad]

I still say get the Complete Savoy and Dial from 2000. There are a couple on Discogs for $70 and $58. A steal in my opinion. If you don’t like alternates or false starts, just skip over them. 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

A roommate in 1976 had an lp set of the complete Savoy masters.  That was my first serious exposure to Bird.  Somewhat later I bought cassette tape versions of some of the older lps.  These were like sacred texts to me and I had backup copies of the cassettes!  Later I got most of the Denon cds and eventually complete sets in several reissues including Japanese and finally the big Savoy and Dial complete set.  Plus the live stuff and the Mosaic.  Etc, etc.

I would say if you don't have anything get the complete master takes.  But if you are really into it eventually you get them all because he would spin off interesting and different ideas in every take.  It's hard to listen to every take one after the other but in small doses it's worth it.

[Brad]

4 hours ago, Stompin at the Savoy said:

A roommate in 1976 had an lp set of the complete Savoy masters.  That was my first serious exposure to Bird.  Somewhat later I bought cassette tape versions of some of the older lps.  These were like sacred texts to me and I had backup copies of the cassettes!  Later I got most of the Denon cds and eventually complete sets in several reissues including Japanese and finally the big Savoy and Dial complete set.  Plus the live stuff and the Mosaic.  Etc, etc.

I would say if you don't have anything get the complete master takes.  But if you are really into it eventually you get them all because he would spin off interesting and different ideas in every take.  It's hard to listen to every take one after the other but in small doses it's worth it.

My first exposure to Bird was through Phil Schaap and then I purchased the Yardbird Suite that I mentioned awhile ago. I then followed that with The Complete Dial Sessions on Jazz Classics (which was a very useful set), then a large Savoy and Dial set from one of the Spanish companies, which I sold when Savoy issued the Complete Savoy and Dial.  Like you I have a lot of live stuff, plus the Mosaic and the 10cd Verve set and anything else that comes  out that may be interesting.  Stash put out some interesting CDs that I have.  

 

[Big Beat Steve]

I see there are a huge variety of different listening prefernces among Bird fans, either complete with all the laternates or master takes only. 
So, further to the JSP public domain set that Mikeweil showed, here is another approach that might satisfy those who like to experience the music in the exact compiling and track order of the original or "period" releases from way back.
(Yes I know the CD set shown under the below link is one of those P.D. sets that some will immediately sneer at. But if found cheaply ... - My copy, for example, came my way at a clearout sale several years ago - and at 1 EUR for a TEN-CD set you cannot go wrong and might as well consider it a freebie ).

Anyway ... this set combines the music "as is" from a number of 10" and 12" LPs originally released in the 50s and early 60s on Dial, Savoy, Mercury, Clef, Jazz Workshop, Le Jazz Cool and some others. 
So as a complementary item with a somewhat different compiling order it might serve some purpose here and there ...

https://www.discogs.com/release/11693423-Charlie-Parker-Milestones-Of-A-Legend

Edited 3 hours ago by Big Beat Steve