Bird & Diz

Bird & Diz
Studio album by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
Released 1952
Recorded February–May 5, 1949
and June 6, 1950
New York, New York
Genre Jazz, bebop
Length 24:58 (Original LP)
44:52 (Remaster)
Label Clef/Verve
MG C-512
Producer Norman Granz
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie chronology
Diz 'N' Bird In Concert
(1947)		 Bird & Diz
(1952)		 Jazz At Massey Hall
(1953
Reissue covers
1986 reissue
1997 Verve remaster edition
2007 Verve reissue
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
All About Jazz (favorable)[1]
Allmusic [2]
Down Beat [3]
Penguin Guide to Jazz [4]
Rolling Stone [5]
Virgin Encyclopedia [6]

Bird & Diz is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded primarily on June 6, 1950 in New York City.[7] Two tracks featured on the original pressing, "Passport" and "Visa", were recorded by Parker, without Gillespie and with a different personnel than that of the other tracks, in March and May 1949.[8] The album was originally issued in 1952 in 10" format as a collection of 78 rpm singles on the Verve subsidiary label Clef Records.[9][10]

While it was produced by Norman Granz, who was known for his preference of large ensembles at the time,[11] the album contains compositions performed with the standard bebop instrumentation of saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums.[12] In a 1952 four-star review of Bird & Diz, a Down Beat 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 serves as the final collaborative studio recording by Parker and Gillespie, and it is also notable for featuring an early appearance of pianist Thelonious Monk.[7] The album has been reissued several times by Verve and PolyGram Records.[12]

Contents

Track listing

Included on the original LP, "Passport" and "Visa" were omitted from the reissue because they were not recorded during the 1950 Bird & 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

Remaster

The Verve/PolyGram remaster editions feature 18 additional takes and liner notes by music scholar James Patrick and producer Norman Granz.

  1. "Bloomdido" - 3:25
  2. "My Melancholy Baby" - 3:24
  3. "Relaxin' with Lee" - 2:47
  4. "Leap Frog" - 2:29
  5. "An Oscar for Treadwell" - 3:23
  6. "Mohawk" - 3:35
  7. "My Melancholy Baby (Complete Take)" - 3:17
  8. "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 4 Complete Take)" - 3:56
  9. "Leap Frog (Take 11 Complete Take)" - 2:34
  10. "Leap Frog (Take 8 Complete Take)" - 2:02
  11. "Leap Frog (Take 9 Complete Take)" - 2:06
  12. "An Oscar for Treadwell (Take 4 Complete Take)" - 3:21
  13. "Mohawk (Take 3 Complete Take)" - 3:48
  14. "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 1 Breakdown Take)" - 0:17
  15. "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 2 Breakdown Take)" - 1:08
  16. "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 3 False Start)" - 0:04
  17. "Relaxin' With Lee (Take 5 Breakdown Take)" - 0:24
  18. "Leap Frog (Take 1 Breakdown Take)" - 0:26
  19. "Leap Frog (Take 7 Breakdown Take)" - 0:14
  20. "Leap Frog (Take 10 Breakdown Take)" - 0:40
  21. "Leap Frog (Take 2 Breakdown Take)" - 0:18
  22. "Leap Frog (Take 6 Breakdown Take)" - 0:20
  23. "Leap Frog (Take 4 Breakdown Take)" - 0:13
  24. "Leap Frog (Take 3 Breakdown Take)" - 0:41

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Notes

  1. ^ All About Jazz review
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ a b Columnist. "Review of Bird & Diz". Down Beat: March 1952.
  4. ^ Penguin Guide to Jazz review
  5. ^ Rolling Stone review
  6. ^ Virgin Encyclopedia review
  7. ^ a b Patrick, James (1997), pp. 1–3.
  8. ^ Mercury Records Collection - Numerical Listing of Mercury Analogue LPs: MG C-512 Bird & Diz. Microgroove. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
  9. ^ Chell, Samuel. Review of Bird & Diz. All About Jazz. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
  10. ^ Clef Records Catalog - The Jazz Scene, JATP, 100, 500 series: MGC 512 Bird And Diz. Jazz Discography Project. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
  11. ^ Anderson, Rick. Review: Bird & Diz. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-06-22.
  12. ^ a b Patrick, James (1997), pp. 5–6.

References

External links