Charlie Parker on Dial

Anybody out there familiar with any of the many CD collections of Charlie Parker on Dial?
There's a combined Savoy/Dial set and a bunch of different sets on various labels: Stash, JSP, Jazz Classics, etc. Would appreciate any feedback.

 

I have the 3 CD set "The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes" on Savoy. I like it, though I don't really have other discs to compare it to. Nice package and I listen to it a lot. Check out the reviews at Amazon.com.

I also have the recent 3CD release "The Complete Verve Master Takes", it's great too, however the packaging in the tin can is funky. Great booklet, but the way the CD's are stored is weird. I copied the discs and left the tin can on the shelf.

Hope that helped, both sets were an easy way to get all of Bird's stuff for me!

Joe

 

I was fortunate to one day stumble across a reissue box of the complete Charlie Parker Dial recordings on LP. It is some sweet music. LP, CD (or even 8track), the music transends the format. if you like jazz, do not (I repeat, not) pass it up.

 

I also have the 3 CD set "The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes" on Savoy Jazz and to my hears it's the best sounding edition of those recordings I heard to date.

On 2nd position I would say stuff by Definitive Records. I didn't listen to a lot of their CDs but they seem to be a serious reissue company.

I did a A/B test and choose the Savoy for the definition and the moderate use of noise reduction but some tracks were better on the Definitive. Probably because of better 78's source.

http://www.savoyjazz.com
http://www.disconforme.com/

 

The other question is whether you want all the alternate takes and incomplete excerpts that have been released over the decades. The Dial sessions have lots of alternate takes, but compared to the Savoys there are relatively few breakdowns and rehearsals.

The 8 CD box set "The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948" released through Atlantic in 2000 was praised in the jazz press as the best-sounding release of the material up to that point. However, I've got an article mentioning the use of CEDAR and Sonic Solutions in that box, so that's something to keep in mind. The same article goes into detail about the careful use of the master discs in the transfer of the Savoy material. I believe the Dial recordings are still (?) owned by Spotlite Records in England, but I have no idea how many of the original Dial masters still survive.

Of course, all the Dial material has been released on the cheap-o European labels like Definitive and Jazz Factory. Buyer beware...

 

I don't know how the JSP or Definitive issues sound compared to the Atlantic, but I have the complete Dial/Savoy, a single disc of the Savoy master takes I bought several years before made in France, a two LP set of the same Savoy material, and the complete Dial recordings on 6 Spotlite Lp's that came out in the late 70's. Recording technology being what it was I don't think that any of these sound particularly awful or great, for that matter. It depends more on which phase of Parker's career you prefer to hear. For the most variety and the best recorded sound I recommend the complete Verve box. I'm also a fan of the Complete Live Performances on Savoy which has been edited down nicely to 4 CD's with just enough Symphony Sid. Because it's live.