CHARLIE PARKER – 1951-1952 | The Chronogical Classics – 1314 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There's a lot to be said for this kind of chronological survey when it's applied to someone like Charlie Parker. It forces you to take into account not only the critically accepted material but everything that Bird accomplished in his professional life -- that is, every commercially released studio recording from this time period. The music resulting from the sessions of January 17 and August 8, 1951, is universally regarded as substantial and masterful. Critics have been "legitimating" these wonderful recordings for decades. They've also complained ad nauseum about the rest of the material on this album. Time after time, issue after reissue, album liner notes hint wryly at Bird's "artistically unsuccessful" experiments with both Latin American percussion and a big band augmented by a chamber string ensemble. It is possible, after all, for listeners to honor Parker by saying to themselves, "This is what the artist felt compelled to do, and we are capable of being receptive to -- appreciative of -- his ideas and the recordings he has left behind." Forget all notions of what belongs or doesn't belong on a jazz record -- specifically on a Charlie Parker record. The South of the Border stuff is fun -- thrilling, even -- and at times beautiful. The selections from Bird with Strings are fascinating and rewarding for those who are not uptight or prejudicial. The wonderful truth is this: music invariably legitimates itself, and ultimately no critics are necessary provided the listener has ears and a heart through which to listen. arwulf arwulf          Tracklist + Credits :