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BIRD Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 24-BIT Digitally Re-mastered Columbia/Legacy 507923 2 Crotchet midprice

1. Lester Leaps In
2. I Can’t Believe That Your In Love With Me
3. Laura
4. All of Me
5. This Time the Dreams on Me
6. Ko Ko
7. Cool Blues
8. April In Paris
9. Now’s the Time
10. Ornithology
11. Parker’s Mood

Charlie Parker – Alto
Monty Alexander – Piano 1,2,4,5,
Barry Harris – Piano 3,8,11
Walter Davis JR – Piano 6,7,9,10
Ray Brown – Bass 1,2,4,5,
Chuck Berghofer – Bass 3,8,11
Ron Carter – Bass 6,7,9,10
John Guerin – Drums
Charles McPherson – Alto 9,10
John Faddis – Trumpet 6,10
Red Rodney – Trumpet 9

This is a re-issue of the LP released in 1988, but this version has been digitally re-mastered at the Sony music studios in New York.

Producer of the film Clint Eastwood cast around for some time to find an Alto sax player who could both act and faithfully reproduce the Parker Alto solos! Not surprisingly he could not find anyone and so with the help of Musical Director Lennie Niehaus, it was decided to use the original Parker solos but re-records all the backings. It sounds like mission impossible, but with the aid of all the technology available at thy time and the aid of all the best jazz players around in 1988, the soundtrack was made.

Parker was one of the few people who changed the course of jazz in a very short space of time. Saxophone playing was never the same after Parker appeared on the scene and even such well established musicians such as Coleman Hawkins changed his playing style to accommodate Parker’s ideas. Over the years I have heard just about every recording that ‘Bird‘ made, often the recording quality is poor because they were recorded in the 40’s and 50’s, but I have never failed to be captivated by his playing.

All of the ‘new’ musicians play well and their contributions help the album to be very enjoyable. If you look at the names listed above, there is no surprise here!

This album is a must for all serious students of Modern Jazz; this is where it all began! On the tracks with strings 3&8 Lennie Niehaus has made the backing strings use the same chord sequence as Parker, which helps things no end!

 

Don Mather

 

 

 

 
 
 

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