Bird and Diz
Bird and Diz is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. It was recorded primarily on June 6, 1950, in New York City.[5] Two tracks featured on the original pressing, "Passport" and "Visa", were recorded by Parker, without Gillespie and with different personnel than the other tracks, in March and May 1949.[6] The album was originally issued in 1952 in 10" format as a collection of 78 rpm singles on the Verve subsidiary label Clef Records.[7][8]
Bird and Diz | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July/August 1952[1] | |||
Recorded | February–May 5, 1949; and June 6, 1950; in New York City | |||
Genre | Bebop | |||
Length | 24:58 | |||
Label | Clef/Verve | |||
Producer | Norman Granz | |||
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie chronology | ||||
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Alternate cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
DownBeat | [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Although produced by Norman Granz, known for large ensembles at the time,[9] the album contains compositions performed with the standard bebop instrumentation of saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums.[10] In a 1952 four-star review of Bird and Diz, a DownBeat magazine columnist wrote of Granz's contribution to the album's sound, stating "Though there is no mention of bop in Norman Granz'[s] notes, we owe him a salvo for reminding us through this LP that this music is still very much alive."[3] It is the final collaborative studio recording by Parker and Gillespie,[5] and has been reissued several times by Verve and PolyGram Records.[10]
Track listing
Included on the original LP, "Passport" and "Visa" were omitted from the reissue because they were not recorded during the 1950 Bird and Diz session.
Side one
Track | Recorded | Song Number | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 6/6/50 | C 410-4 | Bloomdido | Charlie Parker | 3:25 |
2. | 6/6/50 | C 413-2 | My Melancholy Baby | Ernie M. Burnett and George A. Norton | 3:24 |
3. | 6/6/50 | C 415-4 | Relaxin' with Lee | Charlie Parker | 2:47 |
4. | 5/5/49 | C 295-2 | Passport | Charlie Parker | 3:00 |
Side two
Track | Recorded | Song Number | Song Title | Writer | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 6/6/50 | C 414-11 | Leap Frog | Benny Harris and Charlie Parker | 2:29 |
2. | 6/6/50 | C 411-4 | An Oscar for Treadwell | Charlie Parker | 3:23 |
3. | 6/6/50 | C 412-6 | Mohawk | Charlie Parker | 3:35 |
4. | 2/3/49 | C 293-4 | Visa | Charlie Parker | 2:55 |
CD reissue
The Verve/PolyGram remaster editions feature 18 additional takes and liner notes by music scholar James Patrick and producer Norman Granz.
- "Bloomdido" – 3:25
- "My Melancholy Baby" – 3:24
- "Relaxin' with Lee" – 2:47
- "Leap Frog" – 2:29
- "An Oscar for Treadwell" – 3:23
- "Mohawk" – 3:36
- "My Melancholy Baby (Complete Take)" – 3:17
- "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 4 Complete Take)" – 3:56
- "Leap Frog (Take 11 Complete Take)" – 2:34
- "Leap Frog (Take 8 Complete Take)" – 2:02
- "Leap Frog (Take 9 Complete Take)" – 2:06
- "An Oscar for Treadwell (Take 4 Complete Take)" – 3:21
- "Mohawk (Take 3 Complete Take)" – 3:48
- "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 1 Breakdown Take)" – 0:17
- "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 2 Breakdown Take)" – 1:08
- "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 3 False Start)" – 0:04
- "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 5 Breakdown Take)" – 0:24
- "Leap Frog (Take 1 Breakdown Take)" – 0:26
- "Leap Frog (Take 7 Breakdown Take)" – 0:14
- "Leap Frog (Take 10 Breakdown Take)" – 0:40
- "Leap Frog (Take 2 Breakdown Take)" – 0:18
- "Leap Frog (Take 6 Breakdown Take)" – 0:20
- "Leap Frog (Take 4 Breakdown Take)" – 0:13
- "Leap Frog (Take 3 Breakdown Take)" – 0:41
Personnel
Musicians
- Charlie Parker - saxophone (Complete Album)
- Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet (except tracks A4 & B4)
- Curley Russell - bass (except on tracks A4 & B4)
- Buddy Rich - drums (except tracks A4 & B4)
- Thelonious Monk - piano (except tracks A4 & B4)
- Tommy Potter - bass (on tracks A4 & B4)
- Carlos Vidal - bongo (on track B4)
- Max Roach - drums (tracks A4 & B4)
- Al Haig - piano (tracks A4 & B4)
- Tommy Turk - trombone (track B4)
- Kenny Dorham - trumpet (tracks A4 & B4)
Production
- Norman Granz - producer
- Dennis Drake - mastering
- David Stone Martin - cover design
References
- Footnotes
- Billboard August 16, 1952
- AllMusic review
- Columnist. "Review of Bird & Diz". DownBeat: March 1952.
- "Acclaimed Music". Archived from the original on 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- Patrick, James (1997), pp. 1–3.
- Mercury Records Collection - Numerical Listing of Mercury Analogue LPs: MG C-512 Bird & Diz Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Microgroove. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
- Chell, Samuel. Review of Bird & Diz. All About Jazz. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
- Clef Records Catalog - The Jazz Scene, JATP, 100, 500 series: MGC 512 Bird And Diz. Jazz Discography Project. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
- Anderson, Rick. Review: Bird and Diz. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
- Patrick, James (1997), pp. 5–6.
- Bibliography
- Personnel/recorded date/master numbers confirmed with the Ruppli's discography.
Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky (1993). The Mercury Labels — A Discography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-27371-5. - Bird and Diz album liner notes by James Patrick, Norman Granz. PolyGram Records Inc.
External links
- Bird and Diz at Discogs (list of releases)