Charlie Parker is one of the legendary figures of jazz, a musician whose troubled life and creative genius have inspired works like Clint Eastwood's film Bird. As this collection demonstrates, though, the legend could never be larger than the art. Parker was simply one of the two or three greatest improvisers ever to play jazz. He created solos of unmatched harmonic and rhythmic subtlety at tempos few musicians could even negotiate. This selection provides a unique single-CD introduction to Parker's work, touching on his earliest recordings with the blues-based Kansas City band of Jay McShann and the early collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie that marked the dawn of bop. The period of Parker's greatest creativity was brief, and it spanned several record companies--Savoy, Dial, and Verve--all of them represented here. Among the masterpieces are the slow blues of "Parker's Mood" and the stunning "Just Friends," with Parker's liquid alto cascading brilliantly over a small string section. --Stuart Broomer
