Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (Savoy, 2002) [recorded between 1945 and 1948]

What more can be said of the high-flying Bird? To casual observers, his alto sax lines seem to float through the air like a demigod over the super-speedy chord changes and frantic clashing of his rhythm sections. But those who listen closer hear the human inside Parker’s playing: the conviction, the wit, the love, the struggle, the deep blues core that grounds it all. There’s no better way to get a sense of this—and of the greatness of bebop—than by experiencing these 65 tracks. MAC RANDALL

Learn more about The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes on Amazon and Apple Music.