Now's the Time: the Quartet of Charlie Parker

Last updated
Now's the Time: the Quartet of Charlie Parker
Now's the Time the Quartet of Charlie Parker.jpg
Studio album by
Released1956
RecordedDecember 30, 1952
July 28, 1953
Genre Bebop
Length38:49
Label Verve
Producer Norman Granz
Charlie Parker chronology
The Charlie Parker Story
(1956)
Now's the Time: the Quartet of Charlie Parker
(1956)
The Cole Porter Songbook
(1956)

Now's the Time: the Quartet of Charlie Parker, also released as The Genius of Charlie Parker, Vol. 3, is a studio album by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker (Bird) and his quartet. It was recorded in 1952 and 1953 and released posthumously in 1956 by Verve. [1]

Contents

History

The first session took place on December 30, 1952 with Parker, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Teddy Kotick, and drummer Max Roach. The second session on July 28, 1953, saw Al Haig replacing Jones and Percy Heath replacing Kotick. [1]

Tracks from the sessions also contributed to the compilation album, Charlie Parker, released in LP form by Verve Records. [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]

AllMusic critic Robert Taylor praised the album, writing, "Now's the Time captures Charlie Parker during one of his peak recording periods... There are numerous outtakes, which offer a fascinating analysis of Parker's improvisations". He highlighted the "excellent recording quality" of the session. [3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz rated the album 4 out of 4 stars. [4]

Track listing

All compositions by Charlie Parker unless otherwise stated

  1. "The Song Is You" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 2:56
  2. "Laird Baird" – 2:44
  3. "Kim" (Master Take) – 2:59
  4. "Kim" (Alternate Take) – 2:58
  5. "Cosmic Rays" (Master Take) – 3:04
  6. "Cosmic Rays" (Alternate Take) – 3:16
  7. "Chi-Chi" (Alternate Take) – 3:05
  8. "Chi-Chi" (Alternate Take) – 2:41
  9. "Chi-Chi" (Alternate Take) – 2:36
  10. "Chi-Chi" (Master Take) – 3:05
  11. "I Remember You" (Victor Schertzinger, Johnny Mercer) – 3:02
  12. "Now's the Time" – 3:01
  13. "Confirmation" – 2:58

Personnel

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Stitt</span> American jazz saxophonist (1924–1982)

Sonny Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his tendency to rarely work with the same musicians for long despite his relentless touring and devotion to the craft. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor saxophone and even occasionally baritone saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Jones</span> American jazz musician (1918–2010)

Henry Jones Jr. was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.

<i>Blue Haze</i> 1956 compilation album by Miles Davis

Blue Haze is a compilation album of tracks recorded in 1953 and 1954 by Miles Davis for Prestige Records.

Teddy Kotick was an American jazz bassist, who appeared as a sideman with many of the leading figures of the 1940s and 1950s, including Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Horace Silver, Phil Woods and Bill Evans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Parker discography</span>

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.

<i>Charlie Parker with Strings</i> 1995 compilation album by Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker with Strings is the name of two separate albums by jazz musician Charlie Parker, released in 1950 on Mercury Records. It is also the name of a 1995 compilation album released by Verve Records, containing all the tracks from both the 1950 albums, as well as additional material. The sessions place Parker in the context of a small classical string section and a jazz rhythm section, rather than his standard bebop quintet. They were Parker's most popular sellers during his lifetime, and were admitted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988.

<i>Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve</i> 1990 box set by Charlie Parker

Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve is a 1990 box-set by jazz musician Charlie Parker. It features every extant note Parker recorded for labels controlled by Norman Granz as well as his appearances at Jazz at the Philharmonic. Parker recorded for Granz primarily in the last five years of his life, a period during which, besides playing with his famous quintet, he experimented with strings, Afro-Cuban jazz and mixed chorus. Among the albums produced during Parker’s Verve years were Bird & Diz, Charlie Parker with Strings, and Swedish Schnapps.

<i>Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet</i>

Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson, recorded on July 2, 1948, July 23, 1951 and April 7, 1952 and released on Blue Note in 1956. The latter two sessions were originally released on ten-inch LP as Wizard of the Vibes (1952).

<i>The Complete Bud Powell on Verve</i> 1994 compilation album by Bud Powell

The Complete Bud Powell on Verve is a five-disc box set, released on September 27, 1994, by Verve Records, containing all of jazz pianist Bud Powell's recordings as leader for producer Norman Granz.

<i>Swedish Schnapps</i> 1958 studio album by Charlie Parker

Swedish Schnapps(The Genius of Charlie Parker, volume 8) is a Charlie Parker studio album, released by Verve Records, compiling recordings made by two different groups, on two different dates in 1951. The tracks had previously been released as 78rpm singles, and the master takes had previously appeared on the 1955 Clef Records LP The Magnificent Charlie Parker.

<i>The Essential Miles Davis</i> 2001 greatest hits album by Miles Davis

The Essential Miles Davis is a 2-CD compilation album by Miles Davis released by Columbia Legacy on May 15, 2001. It belongs to Sony Music Entertainment's "The Essential" series, not to the series "Essentials", established by WEA International, and was released as part of Sony's Miles 75 Anniversary program. In 2008, The Essential Miles Davis 3.0 was released as a limited edition album featuring a bonus third disc that added five more songs to the original track list.

<i>Memorial Album</i> (Clifford Brown album)

Memorial Album is an album by American jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown recorded on June 9, 1953 and August 28, 1953 and released on Blue Note in September 1956. The two sessions were originally released on ten-inch LPs as New Faces – New Sounds (1953) and New Star on the Horizon (1953), respectively.

<i>The Bop Session</i> 1975 studio jazz album

The Bop Session is an album by jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, John Lewis, Hank Jones, Percy Heath and Max Roach recorded in 1975 and released on the Swedish Sonet label.

<i>The Young Bloods</i> 1957 studio album by Phil Woods and Donald Byrd

The Young Bloods is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Phil Woods recorded in 1956 and released on the Prestige label.

<i>Bird Is Free</i> 1961 live album by Charlie Parker

Bird Is Free is an album by Charlie Parker that documents a concert given at Rockland Palace, New York City, on 26 September 1952. In 1997, Jazz Classics released a more complete documentation of the concert with improved recording quality, Live at Rockland Palace.

<i>Modern Jazz Trumpets</i> 1951 compilation album by Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham

Modern Jazz Trumpets is an album released by Prestige Records in 1951 with music by four jazz trumpeters: Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Kenny Dorham. The album was released on the 10" LP format and includes the first recordings by Davis for Prestige.

<i>The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley</i> 1954 studio album by Max Roach

The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley was the debut album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in 1953 and first released on the Debut label as a 10-inch LP.

<i>South of the Border</i> (Charlie Parker album) 1952 studio album by Charlie Parker

South of the Border is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, first released in 1952 for Mercury Records as a 10" LP. An expanded release was made on CD by Verve Records in 1995, and all tracks were included on Verve's box set Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve.

<i>Live at Rockland Palace</i> 1997 live album by Charlie Parker

Live at Rockland Palace, also released as The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, is a live album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, recorded in 1952 with strings at Rockland Palace in Harlem. The event was a benefit concert for local politician Benjamin Davis.

<i>The Cole Porter Songbook</i> 1956 studio album by Charlie Parker

The Cole Porter Songbook, also released as Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter, is the last recorded studio album by alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Recorded in New York City in March and December 1954, all the tunes recorded for the sessions featured Parker's renditions of Cole Porter compositions.

References

  1. 1 2 "Charlie Parker Discography". www.jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  2. Charlie Parker [Verve] - Charlie Parker | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 2024-03-17
  3. 1 2 The Genius of Charlie Parker, Vol. 3: Now's the Time - Char , retrieved 2024-03-17
  4. 1 2 Morton, Brian; Cook, Richard (2000). The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed.). Penguin. p. 1155.