OCTOBER 28

            CHARLIE PARKER
                Dial Session

                    Recording Date:
                       WOR Studios, NYC
                       October 28, 1947

                    Personnel:
                        Miles Davis      TP
                        Charlie Parker  AS
                        Duke Jordan     P
                        Tommy Potter   B
                        Max Roach       D

                  LINK

Review by Why Evolution Is True
Charlie Parker: Embraceable You:  To me, one of the most amazing human activities is musical improvisation, especially in jazz. How can somebody come up with a new and appealing variation of a theme, and play it on the spot? It’s this instant translation of thought into music—good music—that so baffles me. One of the best examples comprises two takes of the George and Ira Gershwin classic “Embraceable You,” by perhaps the greatest jazz saxophonist in history:  Charlie Parker (1920-1955).  Parker recorded both versions in New York City on October 28, 1947.  The differences between them, reflecting Parker’s tastes at the moment of playing, are profound.  I won’t go on about Parker, but would recommend a nice biography, not very scholarly but immensely readable:  Bird Lives! The group is the Charlie Parker Quintet, including Duke Jordan on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, Max Roach on drums, and a young Miles Davis on trumpet.  I like the first take better, but both are great.  This is in fact my favorite Parker recording, for he was just as great on ballads like this as he was on hard-driving bebop.