''The Charlie Parker Story'' is an LP record by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, released posthumously by Savoy Records. While many of the tracks on this album had been previously released on other formats (78 rpm records, 7-inch EPs and singles, and 10- and 12-inch LPs), this is the first album that chronicles the entire session, recorded November 26, 1945, including all takes of all pieces. This session is famous in that it is the first recorded under Parker's name. It is also controversial, in that to this day it is unclear who the pianist and trumpet player are on all of the tracks.

Background

According to the booklet accompanying ''Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Sessions'' (which consults "documents from the Savoy files and the recollections of Teddy Reig, who produced this session") this was to be "a standard three hours/four side session

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

was scheduled for November 26, 1945, at the WOR studios in New York for which Parker would supply original compositions. A Union contract was arranged the preceding week and Parker;

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, trumpet; Bud Powell, piano; Curly Russell, bass; and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

, drums were booked for the date. On the 26th Reig went to Parker's apartment to bring Bird to WOR and was informed that Powell had gone with his mother to Philadelphia where she was buying a house. No need to worry, however; Dizzy Gillespie was present and introduced to Reig: 'Here's your piano player'. Parker also had contacted Argonne Thornton (later a.k.a.

Sadik Hakim Sadik Hakim (born Forrest Argonne Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Forrest Argonne Thornton was born on July 15, 1919 in Duluth, Minnesota. The name Argonne came from the World War ...

), ... and asked that he appear at the studio." The author of the liner notes of this album—John Mehegan—is under the impression that Powell was present, adding to the controversy over piano players. That Powell was absent is agreed by other sources, including the personnel listings of all other issues of these recordings, which list Gillespie and\or and Hakim on various tracks, sometimes contradicting each other. On the earliest releases of tracks from the session—on 78 rpm records—the pianist is listed as "Hen Gates", a pseudonym known to be used by Dizzy Gillespie. He was listed thus due to his being under contract to the

Musicraft Musicraft Records was a record company and label established in 1937 in New York City. Catalogue Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical music, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso. Artists wh ...

label at the time of the recording. The second 78 rpm release of "Thriving on a Riff" (Savoy 945), though, credits Gillespie on piano; later reissues credit Hakim on this track. Mehegan mentions Hakim in his notes, stating: "As a final irony, a pianist by the name of Argonne Thornton claims he played the date or at least part of it, although this is denied by Herman Lubinsky, who conducted the session." This denial, though, may be caused by the fact—as other sources state—that Hakim was not yet a member of the New York local Musicians Union, having moved from Chicago, and was told not to play by a local union representative. Hakim himself claims to have played piano on all tunes except " Now's the Time" and "Billie's Bounce". Reig claims that Hakim left before the final "Koko" take, due to the aforementioned local union rep. "

Ko-Ko "Ko-Ko" (also spelled "Ko Ko" or "Koko") is a 1945 bebop recording composed by Charlie Parker. The original recorded version lists Parker on alto saxophone with trumpeter Miles Davis, double bassist Curley Russell and drummer Max Roach. Due to ...

" is probably the most controversial track on the album. Many sources state that Gillespie is the trumpet player on this track in place of Davis (including the liner notes of one of Davis' own albums: '' The Musings of Miles''). Various reasons are given: the difficulty of the piece was too much for young Miles, his nerves got the better of him, or simply that he was not present at the time of recording. Other sources insist that it is indeed Miles on this track and attempt to prove it. Some sources additionally state that a) Gillespie played both trumpet and piano on this track or that b) it is impossible for Gillespie to have played both trumpet and piano on this track. One source states that Hakim played piano on the introduction and the coda, allowing Gillespie to play during Parker's solo. It should be pointed out that there is no piano on the master track of Ko-Ko except during Parker's solo, so this is clearly erroneous, but the piano does begin at the beginning of Parker's solo making it unlikely that the trumpet player would have had time to switch instruments. On the aborted take 1 of Ko-Ko, however, the piano can be heard behind the "Cherokee" melody which both the trumpet and saxophone play. So on take 1, at least, Gillespie cannot have been playing both trumpet and piano. See the various resources for further discussions on this controversy. In the end, this controversial date has been called "The Greatest Recording Made in Modern Jazz History." "Now's the Time" and "Thriving From a Riff" (also released as "Thriving on a Riff", later known as "Anthropology") are jazz classics. Davis, Gillespie and Roach are revered as jazz giants in their own right.

Track list

Personnel

As noted above, the precise personnel of this album remains unknown. For completeness, we list the personnel as presented on the label of the album—which is almost certainly incorrect in that it credits Bud Powell on piano—as well as the personnel as listed on ''Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Studio Sessions'' (the only other complete chronicle of this session), which also may be incorrect.

Personnel as listed on ''The Charlie Parker Story''

– alto saxophone *

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Dizzy Gillespie –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

and

* Bud Powell –

– drums *

Curley Russell Dillon "Curley" Russell (19 March 1917 – 3 July 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. He was born in New York, United States. He was nicknamed "Curley" for his curly hair. A member of the Tadd Damero ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

Personnel as listed on ''Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Studio Sessions''

–

– alto saxophone * Dizzy Gillespie –

("Koko" only),

–

("Thriving on a Riff" and "Koko" only) * Curly Russell –

– drums

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlie Parker Story 1956 albums Charlie Parker albums Savoy Records albums Albums produced by Teddy Reig