Bird in Time 1940-1947 (ESP-Disk)

[BeBop]

Any comment on this one? I'm passionate about early Bird. I suspect I've got most of the music, but few of the interviews. Anything previously unissued?

Interestingly, it's $50 on the ESP website and $90 at Amazon.

http://www.espdisk.com/official/catalog/4050.html

Charlie Parker – Bird in Time: 1940-1947” is a unique four disc set produced by Bebop Jazz Historian Michael D. Anderson. This set chronicles the early developmental stages of the career of the artist from 1940 to the fall of 1947. This includes his performances in the Jay McShann band, his work as a sideman, collaborations with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, as well as his leadership of various groups.

In addition to select recordings, the four disc set includes unique interviews by Mr. Anderson with artists who performed with Charlie Parker, or "Bird" as they knew him, describing in detail their experiences with him during this period of time. These interviews provide, for the first time, a glimpse into the creative process that was engaged in making these song tracks. This is a "must have" for serious Charlie Parker music collectors.

[BruceH]

Pricey.

[Dub Modal]

$40 at ImportCDs right now. 

[Rooster_Ties]

Full details...

https://www.discogs.com/release/2167505-Charlie-Parker-Bird-In-Time-1940-1947

[T.D.]

Interesting that producer Michael D. Anderson is the same guy who's involved with the Sun Ra Music Archive and put this together:

 

[Dub Modal]

This music on this set looks to be outside of the Dial and Verve material. Savoy too maybe? 

[JSngry]

None of it is that.

You would need to go back to labels like Xanadu, Stash, Spotlite, labels that pulled a lot of stuff out from deep collector's world and gave it a little valuable daylight for a quick minute or two. 

Oh yeah, Uptown, who actually discovered something. 

Not sure about that ESP price point, but this is essential music. If you don't have it... 

 

[Quasimado]

Highly recommended - put together with intelligence, insight and love ...

None one of the music is from major labels, most of it hard to find, interspersed with comments from those who were there - Bird himself, Howard McGhee, Milt Jackson, Roy porter, Teddy Edwards, Earl Coleman, Max ...

[Gheorghe]

ESP covers somehow the zeitgeist of my youth. Sun Ra´s "Nothing Is" was one of my first LPs , like the "Ornette Coleman Townhall". And though they were on the forefront of avantgarde, they had a deep respect for Bird, Bud, Lady Day, since besides the avantgarde albums they had rare live stuff of Bop Artists. 
Somehow for all modernists of the late 60´s and 70´s Bird was a hero. 

But I might admit I´m not a real collector. Some of the stuff here I might have, interviews are not so interesting for me, and I listened to this music more for learning the tunes and how to play in that style, so I limited it  to more essential commercial Savoys and Dials or some of them....