Charlie PARKER with Strings - The Master Takes 1949
Label: Verve 
Recording Date: Nov 30, 1949-May 22, 1953 
Release Date: Jan 24, 1995  
 
Jazz

When producer Norman Granz decided to let Charlie Parker record standards with a full string section (featuring Mitch Miller on oboe!), the purists cried sellout, but nothing could be further from the truth. There's a real sense of involvement from Bird on these sides, which collect up all the master takes and also include some live tracks from Carnegie Hall that -- judging from the sometimes uneasy murmurings of the crowd -- amply illustrate just how weirdly this mixture of bop lines against "legit" arrangements was perceived. The music on this collection is lush, poetic, romantic as hell, and the perfect antidote to a surfeit of jazz records featuring undisciplined blowing. There's a lot of jazz, but there's only one Bird. By 
Cub Koda.
**
Charlie Parker welcomed the opportunity to record standards with a small string ensemble in 1949, and the results are stunning, his liquid alto soaring over the tuneful and only occasionally stiff arrangements. Along the way, he invests tunes like "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "Laura" with a unique blend of bluesy realism and mercurial improvisation. The CD adds live versions from a Carnegie Hall concert, and there are also two brilliant versions of Neal Hefti's "Repetition." The 1947 version has Bird flying spontaneously over the dense orchestration of horns, strings, and Latin percussion. 
By Stuart Broomer. 

In the 1940s, Norman Granz was a jazz visionary in several ways; one of these was his incorporation of strings into a variety of recordings. Granz ultimately attracted some of the best jazz artists of the era (and of all time). He managed a yet-to-be-duplicated balance of commercialism and risk-taking, of business and art, that led to the recording of some of jazz's landmark recordings. Charlie Parker With Strings (now on Verve, originally on Clef) is generally acknowledged as the first release to feature a jazz soloist backed by violins. It was just the beginning. Arguably the greatest improviser of all time, Charlie Parker was reputed to have been interested in doing a strings album for years. Granz gave him the opportunity to do it, with strings arranged and conducted by Jimmy Carroll (who was working for Granz at the time). Bird's album was monumental in more than the fact that he added strings - it was also an album of all standards, with Parker clearly stating each melody. "Just Friends" became Parker's biggest-selling single and the record of which he was said to have been most proud. 

**
 Manny Albam- Sax (Baritone)  
 Tony Aless- Piano  
 Joe Benaventi- Cello  
 Ted Blume- Vocals  
 Will Bradley- Trombone  
 Frank Brieff- Viola  
 Eddie Brown- Oboe  
 Maurice Brown- Cello  
 Ray Brown- Bass  
 Sam Caplan- Vocals  
 Jimmy Carroll- Arranger, Conductor   
 Art Drelinger- Woodwind  
 Manny Fidler- Vocals  
 Stan Freeman- Piano  
 Bronislaw Gimpel- Vocals  
 Chris Griffin- Trumpet  
 Bob Haggart- Bass  
 Al Haig Piano  
 Bill Harris- Trombone  
 Sid Harris- Vocals  
 Roy Haynes- Drums  
 Max Hollander- Vocals  
 Diego Iborra- Percussion  
 Vinnie Jacobs- French Horn   
 Stan Karpenia- Vocals  
 Harry Katzman- Vocals  
 Howard Kay- Vocals  
 Don Lamond- Drums  
 John LaPorta- Clarinet  
 Bernie Leighton- Piano  
 Milton Lomask- Vocals  
 Tommy Mace- Oboe  
 Shelly Manne- Drums    
 Wallace McManus- Harp  
 Harry Melnikoff- Vocals  
 Doug Mettome- Trumpet  
 Frank Miller- Cello  
 Mitch Miller- Oboe  
 Verlye Mills- Harp  
 Pete Mondello- Sax (Tenor)  
 Toots Mondello- Sax (Alto)   
 Nat Nathanson- Viola  
 Gene Orloff- Vocals  
 Charlie Parker- Sax (Alto)  
 Flip Phillips- Sax (Tenor)  
 Al Porcino- Trumpet  
 Tommy Potter- Bass  
 Bernie Privin- Trumpet   
 Samuel Rand- Vocals  
 Buddy Rich- Drums  
 Myor Rosen- Harp  
 Hank Ross- Sax (Tenor)  
 Curly Russell- Bass  
 Fred Ruzilla- Viola  
 Art Ryerson- Guitar  
 Sonny Salad- Sax (Alto)   
 Sylvan Shulman- Vocals  
 Joseph Singer- French Horn  
 Zelly Smirnoff- Vocals  
 Lou Stein- Piano  
 Dave Uchitel- Viola  
 Bart Varsalona- Trombone (Bass)  
 Stanley Webb- Sax (Baritone)  
 Ray Wetzel- Trumpet  
 Murray Williams- Sax (Alto)  
 Jack Zayde- Vocals  
 Isadore Zir- Viola  
**

01. Just Friends 3:30    
02. Everything Happens To Me 3:15    
03. April In Paris 3:06  
04. Summertime 2:46   
05. I Didn't Know What Time It Was 3:12  
06. If I Should Lose You 2:46    
07. Dancing In The Dark 3:10   
08. Out Of Nowhere 3:06    
09. Laura 2:57    
10. East Of The Sun (West Of The Moon) 3:37    
11. They Can't Take That Away From Me 3:17    
12. Easy To Love (Album Version) 3:29    
13. I'm In The Mood For Love 3:33    
14. I'll Remember April 3:02    
15. What Is This Thing Called Love? 2:54    
16. April In Paris (Live (Carnegie Hall) 3:13   
17. Repetition (Live (1950/Carnegie Hall) 2:48
18. Easy To Love (Live (1949/Carnegie Hall) 2:25    
19. Rocker (I'll Remember April) 3:00    
20. Temptation 3:31    
21. Lover 3:06   
22. Autumn In New York 3:29    
23. Stella By Starlight 2:56   
24. Repetition (Live (1947/Carnegie Hall) 2:57