Charlie Parker - The Quintets: 1945-51

(2 CDs for the price of one CD) When Bird recorded the first numbers on this CD, he was little more than an exciting and novel diversion in a swing-dominated jazz scene. Ten years later, by the time of his death, he had altered the very nature of the music, transformed lives and made the development of jazz beyond what he himself had envisioned possible for a new generation of musicians. This 140 minute set plots two aspects of Parker's career, and features Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro, Red Rodney, as well as "Collaborations - Bird Meets the Jazz Giants".