The current year marks 100 years from the birth of Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker, one of the most influential jazz musicians ever. Udiscovermusic.com, Universal Records’ online site, reports that Craft Records, one of Universal’s subsidiaries is set to release on February 28 The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection. The four-LP box set, which will also be available digitally features “Charlie Parker’s groundbreaking bebop sessions for the famed jazz label Savoy Records between 1944 and 1948.”
This deluxe set “contains newly restored and remastered audio, faithfully reproduced artwork from the original 10-inch albums, and a booklet with vintage photos, rare ephemera, and new liner notes written by the Grammy-winning journalist and author Neil Tesser.”
But that’s not all. The set forms part of year-long Bird celebrations that will include special events, performances, and music and art releases “under the Bird 100 banner.”
Among the musicians featured in the set are names like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Bud Powell, and Max Roach.
According to Tesser, “the bebop style that Parker helped to pioneer was seen as distinctly avant-garde at a time when Great American Songbook standards, performed by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and others, were de rigueur.”
The set is a must for all those who are familiar with Parker due to restored sound quality, but also for those that are yet to get into this music legend.
As a preview, Universal has released a video of “Ko-Ko” from the set.
