Charlie Parker in best sound?

[SwingItTrev]

Hi everyone,

I realised I have very little Charlie Parker and I'm interested in getting his early recordings in the best sound available. Would the JSP set be the best way to go on this?

[jazzbo]

I've only heard the JSP set once and it was okay. My go to for that period of Bird is the Savoy/Atlantic complete box set. I feel this is very good mastering from the best sources, and of course the music is absolutely bedrock stuff.

[colinmce]

The JSP is good and all and probably worth having but like jazzbo said, the complete Savoy/Dial box is what you want.

[ElginThompson]

Get all the Bird you can afford. Period. Bird live is life changing, particularly the Live Performances on Savoy when he was at the absolute height of his powers.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Live-Performances-Savoy-1947-Oct/dp/B00000DC2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355783562&sr=8-1&keywords=charlie+parker+complete+live+performances+on+savoy

[paul secor]

Even on badly recorded live performances, Bird's sound came through.

[ElginThompson]

Even on badly recorded live performances, Bird's sound came through.

Amen! Even on the barely audible Live at Birdland recordings with Fats and Red Rodney, Bird still sounds sublime.

[RDK]

Honestly, if you have "very little" Charlie Parker and if good sound is a concern go with the Verves. I think much of his Verve work is underrated and it sounds much better than some of his poorly recorded (although perhaps superior) earlier work. It's not gonna do anyone any good if the poor recording quality turns you off to Bird.

[jazzbo]

Hey Trev is a big boy! He was asking about the early material. . . he can take it in its best sonic form.

[gmonahan]

If I had *very little* Charlie Parker, I'd spring for the box set, "Bird: Charlie Parker, the Complete Masters, 1941-54" put out by Universal. All the early McShann solos, all the Dials, Savoys, Guilds, Musicrafts, Verves (masters, not alternates) are there with what sounds to these ears like good sound and a pretty good booklet. And when I last Iooked, Amazon sellers had it at just under $42.00.

gregmo

[SwingItTrev]

Thanks all - Yeah, I'll always rate a good performance over recording quality, but I'll always want the best remastering available.

[Brad]

As a big Bird fan, I'd vote for the Savoy/Dial, the live Savoy and the Verves. If you have that, you have the essentials.

[ElginThompson]

<p>

As a big Bird fan, I'd vote for the Savoy/Dial, the live Savoy and the Verves. If you have that, you have the essentials.

Also essential.

Edited December 20, 2012 by Delightfulee

[paul secor]

As a big Bird fan, I'd vote for the Savoy/Dial, the live Savoy and the Verves. If you have that, you have the essentials.

Those are the basics but, if you don't know at least some of the other live recordings, you're missing a lot of the essence of Charlie Parker. And I think if I had to choose, I'd forgo the Verves in favore of some live recordings.