Collectables Jazz Classics (series)

Happy Bird

by Charlie Parker

Description by OLDIES.com:

Charlie Parker is arguably the greatest saxophone player of all time. One of the founders of bebop, "Bird" is unlike any other jazz artist before or after his time. Listen as this extraordinary artist joyfully plays.

Product Description:

Personnel: Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Wardell Gray (tenor saxophone); Benny Harris (trumpet); Walter Bishop, Dick Twardzik (piano); Teddy Kotick, Charles Mingus (bass); Roy Haynes, Max Roach (drums).

Recorded live at Christy's Restaurant, Boston, Massachusetts on April 12, 1951.

These lengthy live cuts, recorded in Boston in 1951, feature Parker in a relaxed and extremely creative mode. In a set of only four numbers, Bird stretches out considerably on "Scrapple From The Apple," I Remember April" and "I May Be Wrong." The one complaint here is the sound quality (one can clearly hear conversational murmurs and shouts of "Go! Go!" during solos). Nevertheless, strong sidemen (one track features the incomparable rhythm section of Charles Mingus and Max Roach) and Parker's playing, which gives full reign to parallelism, echoed phrases and lightning-fast harmonic fragments, make THE HAPPY "BIRD" a rewarding experience.