On
Primo's double-disc compilation released in 2007,
The Rise and Fall of Charlie Parker is depicted using 40 definitive
bop recordings made in New York, Hollywood, and Detroit between November 1945 and March 1951, a segment of time that begins five years into and ends about three years short of the end of
Bird's adventurous recording career. For this project the folks at
Primo raided the
Savoy,
Dial, and
Verve catalogs, stacking the selections in almost but not quite chronological order and tossing in a handful of live broadcasts from
the Royal Roost at 47th and Broadway in New York City. The supporting cast includes trumpeters
Miles Davis,
Dizzy Gillespie, and
Howard McGhee, trombonist
J.J. Johnson, saxophonists
Lucky Thompson and
Wardell Gray, pianists
Dodo Marmarosa,
Erroll Garner,
Bud Powell,
Duke Jordan,
Al Haig,
John Lewis, and
Walter Bishop, Jr., and drummers
Max Roach and
Roy Haynes. Even if dozens of existing
Charlie Parker collections cover similar ground, the titles are well chosen, the music is uniformly excellent, and the spirit of
Charlie Parker is inextinguishable. ~ arwulf arwulf
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