4.0 out of 5 stars
Bird Breaks Out, November 28, 2001
This review is from: Once There Was a Bird (Audio CD)
These classic recordings from 1945 clearly indicate the striking difference between the styles of some of the jazz great from the swing era(Red Norvo, Teddy Wilson, Slam Stewart)and the major innovators from the modern, so called, be-bop genre: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.Bird (Parker) and Diz not only illustrate early on the harmonic inventiveness inherent in their playing, but also a new, sophisticatedapproach to rhythm, with pauses, rests,and off-beats unheard of prior to their arrival on the scene. Also worthy of note is the ability of Parker and Gillespie to "blend in" with the predominately swing oriented playerswithout losing grip on what they wanted to say. A characteristic of only the greatest of players. These are classicrecordings worthy of a place in the collections of both the uninitiated as well as the esoterically inclined. My rating: Four and a half stars.
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