In celebration of its 60th anniversary, and the most recent of its many revivals, the Savoy label is reissuing some of its legendary material in special packages.
The first, Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Recordings, includes 20 of Parker’s first-rate tracks from the years 1944 through 1948, when many feel he was in his prime. The disc begins with a 1944 date with Tiny Grimes, on which Bird was a sideman, and features many tunes that became bebop standards. The list of performers is a who’s who of bebop, including Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson, John Lewis, Max Roach and Howard McGhee.