That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

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Part II: Jazz Greats and Great Jazz: An Evolutionary Riff
Davis only played bop for a short while before he moved on to cool jazz and
hard bop. His subtle, minimalist sound left Parker more room to improvise
than he had with Gillespie.
In addition to a quintet including Davis, Parker recorded and performed with
a variety of bebop’s top players during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Among
the most important of them were
� Drummer Max Roach, along with Kenny Clarke
� Pianist Duke Jordan
� Bassist Tommy Potter
You should have several Parker CDs, including collaborations with Gillespie.
Parker was the most significant soloist from the bebop era. Here are a few
suggestions to get you started:
� Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22,
1945 (Uptown): Made during a radio broadcast, these recordings were
recently recovered and represent some of the best early bop played by
Parker and Gillespie.
� Diz and Bird at Carnegie Hall (Blue Note): In 1947, the bebop heroes
gave this excellent performance with a big band.
� Jazz at Massey Hall (OJC): Recorded in Toronto in 1953, the album
catches the dynamic duo with an all-star band performing bebop classics
like “A Night in Tunisia” and “Salt Peanuts.”
� Charlie Parker: A Studio Chronicle 1940–1948 (JSP Records): A ton of
bop for a reasonable price.
� Charlie Parker: The Cole Porter Songbook (Polygram): Bird was
known for flying fast, but this set shows he also had a loving way with a
ballad.
Gillespie, meanwhile, pursued his ambition to lead a big band that would combine
bebop with Latin elements. This area became his focus during the late
1940s, when he played and recorded with Latin masters such as percussionist
Chano Pozo. Unlike Parker, who died prematurely, Gillespie enjoyed a long and
productive career, and mentored many generations of musicians. One of them
was his disciple, Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, whom Gillespie helped
bring to the U.S. In his later years, Gillespie traveled with his famous all-star
United Nations Orchestra, which combined great music with spreading a message
of world peace and multicultural harmony.