This CD compiles two separate live appearances by Charlie Parker, recorded a few days apart in Montreal, several months before the historic all-star concert at Toronto's Massey Hall in which the alto saxophonist took part.
Rather than traveling with a band, Parker utilized local musicians, most of whom remain little known outside of Canada, aside from pianist Paul Bley, guitarist Dick Garcia, and bassist Hal Gaylor.
Some of the tracks from the live set at Chez Paree are incomplete because Parker walked off-stage to shut off the recorder while his sidemen soloed.
Some of the tracks from the television performance were in edited form, but fortunately one musician retained his unedited copy and complete versions were available for remastering, greatly improving the sound of the rhythm section.
In spite of Parker's notorious unreliability from his drug addiction, he is great form on both gigs, and his voice is even heard a few times talking clearly to the audience to introduce songs.
Tenor saxophonist Brew Moore also has a featured number ("Bernie's Tune") in place of Parker.
It's refreshing to hear a live recording of Charlie Parker that consists of more than just his solos, and this laudable CD will be of great interest to his fans.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OrnithologyBenny Harris, Charlie Parker | Charlie Parker | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 10 MB |
| 2 | Cool BluesCharlie Parker | Charlie Parker | Play | 07:37 | 17 MB | 18 MB |
| 3 | I'll Remember AprilGene DePaul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye | Charlie Parker | Play | 05:43 | 13 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Moose the MoocheCharlie Parker | Charlie Parker | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 12 MB |
| 5 | Embraceable YouGeorge Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | Charlie Parker | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 9 MB |
| 6 | Now's the TimeCharlie Parker | Charlie Parker | Play | 07:46 | 17 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Intro TV Program | Charlie Parker | Play | 00:25 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Cool BluesCharlie Parker | Charlie Parker | Play | 07:37 | 17 MB | 18 MB |
| 9 | Bernie's TuneJerry Leiber, Bernard Miller, Mike Stoller | Charlie Parker | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 7 MB |
| 10 | Don't Blame MeDorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh | Charlie Parker | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 8 MB |
| 11 | Closing | Charlie Parker | Play | 00:18 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Wahoo (Perdido) | Charlie Parker | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 9 MB |
| 52 mins | 120 MB | |||||
| 52 mins | 145 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gene DePaul | Composer |
| 2 | Ervin Drake | Composer |
| 3 | Dorothy Fields | Composer |
| 4 | Dick Garcia | Guitar |
| 5 | Hal Gaylor | Bass |
| 6 | George Gershwin | Composer |
| 7 | Ira Gershwin | Composer |
| 8 | Billy Graham | Drums |
| 9 | Benny Harris | Composer |
| 10 | Patricia Johnston | Composer |
| 11 | Jerry Leiber | Composer |
| 12 | H.J. Lengsfelder | Composer |
| 13 | Bob Malloy | Drums |
| 14 | Jimmy McHugh | Composer |
| 15 | Bernard Miller | Composer |
| 16 | Charlie Parker | Composer, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto) |
| 17 | Ted Paskert | Drums |
| 18 | Don Raye | Composer |
| 19 | Bob Rudd | Bass |
| 20 | Roger Seibel | Engineer |
| 21 | Mike Stoller | Composer |
| 22 | Juan Tizol | Composer |
| 23 | Jack Towers | Engineer |
| 24 | André White | Engineer |
| 25 | Valdo Williams | Piano |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |