To celebrate the centenary of Charlie Parker’s birthday on August 29th 1920 in Kansas City, this impeccable compilation brings together sessions recorded by the saxophonist for the Savoy label between 1944 and 1948. 28 tracks have been restored and remastered by Paul Blakemore, with music by legends such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and John Lewis, a veritable soundtrack to the birth of bebop. Some of the tracks are taken from an almost mythical session from November 1945 which some baptised ‘The Greatest Jazz Session Ever’, with Miles, Max Roach and Curley Russell presented as Charlie Parker’s Reboppers. The virtuosity and acrobatic poetry displayed by Bird and his friends revolutionised jazz, which had until then never known such freedom and technical excellency. Of course, the themes themselves (Donna Lee, Chasin’ the Bird, Milestones, Now’s the Time, Parker’s Mood, Marmaduke...) are so gorgeous that they have all become standards in their own right. Charlie Parker not only rewrote the jazz rulebook but also invented a language and an aesthetic that would go on to influence countless musicians. An essential album. ©️ Marc Zisman/Qobuz