For those unaware, this double LP features 18 selections from saxophone great Charlie Parker. All these recordings were captured in the late 1940s and early ’50s at such storied venues as Carnegie Hall and Birdland in New York, The Jubilee in Los Angeles, and the Portland Civic Auditorium.

Focused on experiments in Afro-Cuban fusion, Parker is joined by a dazzling array of jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Red Rodney, and others.

The package includes essays by keyboardist Keith Emerson and contemporary jazz saxophonist Cory Weeds. While a number of these recordings have previously appeared on other albums, this is the first time they have been gathered on double 180-gram vinyl in a gatefold sleeve.

1. Dizzy Atmosphere
2. A Night in Tunisia
3. Groovin’ High
4. Confirmation
5. Lament for Congo
6. Mambo Fortunado
7. Salt Peanuts
8. Leo the Lion I
9. Cuban Holiday
10. Lemon Drop
11. The Goof and I
12. Leo the Lion II
13. Night and Day
14. My Funny Valentine
15. Cherokee
16. On the Alamo
17. Manteca
18. A Short One

This quite stunning flashback into Charlie Parker’s magnificent career opens on the frenetic swing rhythm section highlighted within Dizzy Atmosphere and the groovy bass and guitar combination of A Night in Tunisia, and then comes the rangy swing of Groovin’ High, the energetic Confirmation, both the Afro-Cuban infused Lament for Congo and foot-slapper Mambo Fortunado, then comes the sharp, witty and musically ingenious Salt Peanuts, the swinging Leo the Lion I and the wholesome melodies within Cuban Holiday.

Up next is one of my own personal favorites from this recording, the frenetically-paced, yet magnificently sculptured Lemon Drop and the cheerful The Goof and I and they are in turn backed by the shimmering second part of Leo the Lion II, the stellar, timeless Night and Day, and languishing beauty of My Funny Valentine, and at the height of creativity, we next get the finger-snapping Cherokee, the heartfelt yearn of On the Alamo, the album rounding out on the free flowing Manteca, closing on the aptly-named A Short One.

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