Charles Parker Jr., nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. He was a virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker's tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber.
Miles Davis was an American trumpeter, bandleader and musical composer. His discography consists of at least 60 studio albums and 39 live albums, as well as 46 compilation albums, 27 box sets, 4 soundtrack albums, 57 singles and 3 remix albums.
Mingus Ah Um is a studio album by American jazz musician Charles Mingus which was released in October 1959 by Columbia Records. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The cover features a painting by S. Neil Fujita. The title is a corruption of an imaginary Latin declension. It is common for Latin students to memorize Latin adjectives by first saying the masculine nominative, then the feminine nominative, and finally the neuter nominative singular —implying a transformation of his name, Mingus, Minga, Mingum. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.
Jazz at Massey Hall is a live jazz album recorded on 15 May 1953 at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada. Credited to "the Quintet", the group was composed of five leading "modern" players of the day: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. It was the only time that the five musicians recorded together as a unit, and it was the last recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie.
This is a list of recordings by American jazz alto saxophonist Charlie Parker ("Bird"). Parker primarily recorded for three labels: Savoy, Dial, and Verve. His work with these labels has been chronicled in box sets. Charlie Parker's Savoy and Dial Sessions have been issued on The Complete Savoy Sessions, Charlie Parker on Dial and Complete Charlie Parker on Dial and The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes. His Verve recordings are available on Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve and The Complete Verve Master Takes.
A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry is an album by the jazz bassist, composer, and band leader Charles Mingus, released by Bethlehem Records in mid-1959. In spite of the title, the album does not contain any poetry. "Scenes in the City", however, includes narration performed by Mel Stewart and written by actor Lonne Elder with assistance from Langston Hughes. The composition "Duke's Choice" re-appears, in updated form, as "I X Love" on the 1963 album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. "Nouroog", "Duke's Choice" and "Slippers" form the basis of the suite "Open Letter to Duke" on Mingus Ah Um.
Far Cry is the third album by jazz musician Eric Dolphy, released in 1962 on New Jazz Featuring a quintet co-led with trumpeter Booker Little, it is one of the few recordings of their partnership. Pianist Jaki Byard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Roy Haynes all return from earlier Dolphy albums. This was a busy time for Dolphy- he took part in Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz session and recorded this album on the same day, and had participated in the Jazz Abstractions project the previous day.
Rollins Plays for Bird is a 1957 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Prestige label, featuring performances by Rollins with Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach on material associated with Charlie Parker.
Bird on 52nd St. is a live album by the saxophonist Charlie Parker. It was recorded in July 1948 at the Onyx Club on a non-professional tape recorder by trombonist Jimmy Knepper, a fan of Parker who also made the recording released as Bird at St. Nick's. It was first released in 1957 on Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop label as JWS 501. Several tracks are incomplete; Knepper was focused on capturing Parker's solos to conserve audiotape. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow wrote that Parker "plays quite brilliantly on this live set", but because of seriously deficient sound quality which "sometimes borders on the unlistenable" the album can be considered as being "for true Charlie Parker completists only."
Pre-Bird is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title Pre-Bird. It was released on Mercury Records in September 1961.
Jazz French Horn is the third album by American jazz French horn player and composer Tom Varner recorded in 1985 and released as an LP on the New Note label, and later as a CD on the Italian Soul Note label.
Always Say Goodbye is an album by American jazz bassist Charlie Haden's Quartet West that was recorded in 1993 and released on the Verve label. The "intro" and the "ending" tracks feature excerpts from Hawks's masterpiece The Big Sleep.
Makin' the Changes is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean. It was recorded in 1957 for Prestige, but not released until 1960 by the subsidiary label New Jazz as NJ 8231. It features three tracks with McLean in a quartet with pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Arthur Phipps and drummer Art Taylor, and three with a sextet featuring trumpeter Webster Young, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Gil Coggins, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Louis Hayes.
To Bird with Love is a live album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie with an array of guest stars. It was recorded at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City on January 23–25, 1992 and released on the Telarc label. Gillespie's performances at the club in January and February of that year yielded two additional live albums, Bird Songs: The Final Recordings and To Diz with Love. Together, these three titles represent his final recordings prior to his death in 1993.
Bird Songs: The Final Recordings is a live album trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie with an array of guest stars recorded at the Blue Note Jazz Club, New York City in 1992 and released on the Telarc label. The album, along with To Bird with Love and To Diz with Love, represent the last recordings made by the legendary trumpeter before his death in 1993.
The Complete RCA Victor Recordings is a 1995 compilation 2-CD set of sessions led by Jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie recorded for the RCA Victor label between 1937 and 1949.
BeBopBeBopBeBopBeBop is an album of bebop standards by pianist Paul Bley recorded in Denmark in 1989 and released on the SteepleChase label.
Banned in New York is a live album by saxophonist Greg Osby recorded at Sweet Basil in New York City in 1997 for the Blue Note label. The album was recorded by Osby on a MiniDisc recorder placed on a table in front of the band.
Burnt Offering is a live album by American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and American jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille. It was recorded in May 1982 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and released by the Black Saint label in 1991.
At the Golden Circle is a live album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, bassist Torbjorn Hultcrantz, and drummer Sune Spångberg. Recorded at the Golden Circle jazz club in Stockholm on two nights, it was released as a five-volume set by SteepleChase. SteepleChase condensed the album into two volumes in a later release as Swedish Pastry.
