8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bebop at its best, April 28, 2003
A dream come true for the true bebop enthusiast. Supersax was a hell of a band, and the idea of playing some of the best Bird's solos reharmonized for 5 saxophones is damn good. To say this correctly you can hear in the beginning of each track the full Bird solo, which usually was short (due to the recording limits of the era) and than you can hear 8 or 9 minutes of be bop blowing from the men in Supersax (Nimitz, Flory, Marsh, Hanna etc) and from Frank Rosolino the best trombone playing ever. Each tune is streached out at its limits for great listening fun. This is bop how it should be played, with no time restrictions, energy, abandon, and passion for the music. This one is the first part of a double live recording (you can find this same review in Supersax Japan part 2). The list is pure be bop with few standards which entered in the history of jazz like Bird's stuff (Just friends from the Bird with strings album for example). Really, Bird solos was so unforgettable that someone soon or later had to think to this idea of playing them as classic compositions, reharmonized for a small ensemble. Not to mention the solos from the men in Supersax and from Rosolino. They're really close to the ones from the masters tributed here (not only Bird, Diz and Monk too). Hope Capitol records soon will reissue the first three albums from Supersax that were unbelievable like this one.
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