Bird and Diz (original) (raw)

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1952 studio album by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie

Bird and Diz
Studio album by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
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
Diz 'N' Bird In Concert(1947) Bird and Diz(1952) Jazz at Massey Hall(1953)
Charlie Parker chronology
Bird and Diz(1952) South of the Border(1952)
Alternate cover
1986 Verve vinyl reissue

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
DownBeat [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [6]

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.[7] 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.[8] The album was originally issued in 1952 in [10" format](/wiki/10%22%5FLP "10" LP") as a collection of 78 rpm singles on the Verve subsidiary label Clef Records.[9][10]

Although produced by Norman Granz, known for large ensembles at the time,[2] the album contains compositions performed with the standard bebop instrumentation of saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums.[11] 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,[7] and has been reissued several times by Verve and PolyGram Records.[11]

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.

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
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

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" – 3:36
  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

Footnotes

  1. ^ Billboard August 16, 1952
  2. ^ a b AllMusic review
  3. ^ a b Columnist. "Review of Bird & Diz". DownBeat: March 1952.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 416.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 1018.
  6. ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 529.
  7. ^ a b Patrick, James (1997), pp. 1–3.
  8. ^ 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.
  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. ^ a b Patrick, James (1997), pp. 5–6.

Bibliography