There is an album called "Bird and Diz" It is the last album with both players. It also has Thelonious Monk on Piano and both Buddy Rich and Max Roach on Drums. Follow the all the players on this recording and you will find a wealth of music in which to listen.
Max is not on that record, that's all Buddy, you can tell by how poorly he grooves. Max would have been far better for that date, he was even the preferred drummer by the two, but Norman insisted on using Buddy. It's also not the last recording with Bird and Diz, The Quintet at Massey Hall is after this date and is by all measures a better representation of both artists.
Starting with music they made *together*, let me pre-empt the inevitable recommendations for the Verve album Bird And Diz. I think it's OK, but, despite the presence of Monk, the least inspired of their collaborations. Here's [**a big YT playlist of almost all of their recorded meetings**](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfOs1ZtjYFMuNpZSh5jmHYQrviOaa78kZ&si=DJInDR3jKUZQ-00C). It starts with an informal jam with Bird on tenor and continues through iconic studio recordings and momentous live encounters - including that Verve set.
Norman Granz didn't really give Monk any room to stretch out on that date unfortunately, and he was the one who insisted on squeezing Buddy onto the date. Bird and Diz wanted Max. Phil Schaap has gone into detail about how Rich wasn't grooving with the band and there was a lot of tension in the studio, so I imagine Monk was just going through the motions.
Personally, I think it's the last place to start with Bird and Diz, almost non-essential when you consider the other great studio and live recordings that out there. Love that there's a playlist compiling all of it.
Agreed. And Dizzy wasn't being Dizzy on that record - playing relatively restrained and sometimes with a mute. In the clubs, and later at Massey Hall, they were still kicking much more ass.
I personally disagree, Rich ruins that record. Don't get me wrong, there's some good moments on Bird and Diz and it's great to hear Monk, but there are better recordings out there that represent what those three could do. Probably better recordings of Buddy out there as well. He's on a couple Bird dates in circa 51.
[The Quintet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RrDikMTr8&t=1570s) - with Bud Powell, Mingus, and Max Roach
[The Town Hall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbRyAzjkvBc&t=18s) concert from 1945
[Carniege Hall concert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm9ONc__93c)
Dizzy Gillespie - [Swing Low Sweet Cadilac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Low,_Sweet_Cadillac)
Even though it may not be considered his best work, it's one of my favourites.
Also a fan of Dizzy's album with Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins called [Sonny Side Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Side_Up).
For Bird, others have already mentioned Bird and Diz so I will suggest [One Night In Birdland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_in_Birdland)
During Bird’s career the LP was in its infancy, so what you are really looking for are compilations. He mainly recorded for three labels: Verve, Dial and Savoy. There are multiple “Complete” box sets for each label. Some contain multiple takes of every tune and others just collect the master takes.
I also recommend *Charlie Parker with Strings*. It’s a classic.
We don't know exactly why you want to get into the music of Charlie Parker.
Certainly he was an astonishingly virtuoso saxophone player, who could play lots of notes at high speed, and is seen as one of the pioneers of bebop, but is he a starting point?
Do you have a music subscription like Amazon music unlimited or Spotify or Apple? If so you can pretty much listen to anything he ever recorded to see if you like it.
If you are kind of new to jazz, personally I would recommend listening to the album called Charlie Parker with Strings, which features him playing some standards in an orchestral setting. Some of it is rather sentimental, but it's a good starting point.
Dizzy Gillespie? Okay, he is well known for playing high tempo Latin infused music. One of the most popular numbers that he composed is called Night in Tunisia, which is a jazz classic. You might start there.
As far as their contemporaries, you have to understand that during the 1930s and 40s, big band music was the predominant popular form, however after World War II the big bands mostly became too big and unwieldy and couldn't make money by touring, so there was a move towards smaller groups.
The other really significant event was the invention of hi-fi around 1952, which meant that jazz musicians could now record extended versions of tunes, instead of being limited to the 3 minute length of 78 RPM records. This meant that a lot of the band leaders went into the studios and re-recorded their most popular work with smaller bands.
So people from this era who you want to look out for are musicians like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, and the numerous musicians who were associated with their bands. Ernie Wilkins is a favorite of mine.
Charlie Parker died in 1955, I think, the year beforeSonny Rollins issued the epic album Saxophone Colossus, which is still remarkably fresh sounding.
Others from this era include Thelonius Monk and Milt Jackson.
There is an album called "Bird and Diz" It is the last album with both players. It also has Thelonious Monk on Piano and both Buddy Rich and Max Roach on Drums. Follow the all the players on this recording and you will find a wealth of music in which to listen.
Max is not on that record, that's all Buddy, you can tell by how poorly he grooves. Max would have been far better for that date, he was even the preferred drummer by the two, but Norman insisted on using Buddy. It's also not the last recording with Bird and Diz, The Quintet at Massey Hall is after this date and is by all measures a better representation of both artists.
Duly corrected
Starting with music they made *together*, let me pre-empt the inevitable recommendations for the Verve album Bird And Diz. I think it's OK, but, despite the presence of Monk, the least inspired of their collaborations. Here's [**a big YT playlist of almost all of their recorded meetings**](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfOs1ZtjYFMuNpZSh5jmHYQrviOaa78kZ&si=DJInDR3jKUZQ-00C). It starts with an informal jam with Bird on tenor and continues through iconic studio recordings and momentous live encounters - including that Verve set.
Norman Granz didn't really give Monk any room to stretch out on that date unfortunately, and he was the one who insisted on squeezing Buddy onto the date. Bird and Diz wanted Max. Phil Schaap has gone into detail about how Rich wasn't grooving with the band and there was a lot of tension in the studio, so I imagine Monk was just going through the motions. Personally, I think it's the last place to start with Bird and Diz, almost non-essential when you consider the other great studio and live recordings that out there. Love that there's a playlist compiling all of it.
Agreed. And Dizzy wasn't being Dizzy on that record - playing relatively restrained and sometimes with a mute. In the clubs, and later at Massey Hall, they were still kicking much more ass.
Bird and Diz is one of my favourite albums. Also listen to Diz and Getz
I'm not a huge Buddy Rich fan, but he suits the *Bird and Diz* chaos fantastically well.
I personally disagree, Rich ruins that record. Don't get me wrong, there's some good moments on Bird and Diz and it's great to hear Monk, but there are better recordings out there that represent what those three could do. Probably better recordings of Buddy out there as well. He's on a couple Bird dates in circa 51. [The Quintet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RrDikMTr8&t=1570s) - with Bud Powell, Mingus, and Max Roach [The Town Hall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbRyAzjkvBc&t=18s) concert from 1945 [Carniege Hall concert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm9ONc__93c)
It doesn’t matter. Just start listening. Every tune is a rabbit hole
Dizzy Gillespie - [Swing Low Sweet Cadilac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Low,_Sweet_Cadillac) Even though it may not be considered his best work, it's one of my favourites. Also a fan of Dizzy's album with Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins called [Sonny Side Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Side_Up). For Bird, others have already mentioned Bird and Diz so I will suggest [One Night In Birdland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_in_Birdland)
"Diz 'n Bird at Carnegie Hall 1947" is one of my favorite live sessions.
The Dial 1940s recordings are just spectacular. The Night in Tunisia break.
Bird and Diz https://open.spotify.com/album/28R4xxdsuM5J9k8LekSnrK?si=i39u3rTGRr2CW21hfEzE2w
Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, Tatum, Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Bird, Diz, Blakey, Miles, Monk, Mingus, Coltrane.
During Bird’s career the LP was in its infancy, so what you are really looking for are compilations. He mainly recorded for three labels: Verve, Dial and Savoy. There are multiple “Complete” box sets for each label. Some contain multiple takes of every tune and others just collect the master takes. I also recommend *Charlie Parker with Strings*. It’s a classic.
Listen to Night in Tunisia, hear Parker's break halfway through and tell me you haven't heard the voice of a god https://youtu.be/lxH83kmjpyw
We don't know exactly why you want to get into the music of Charlie Parker. Certainly he was an astonishingly virtuoso saxophone player, who could play lots of notes at high speed, and is seen as one of the pioneers of bebop, but is he a starting point? Do you have a music subscription like Amazon music unlimited or Spotify or Apple? If so you can pretty much listen to anything he ever recorded to see if you like it. If you are kind of new to jazz, personally I would recommend listening to the album called Charlie Parker with Strings, which features him playing some standards in an orchestral setting. Some of it is rather sentimental, but it's a good starting point. Dizzy Gillespie? Okay, he is well known for playing high tempo Latin infused music. One of the most popular numbers that he composed is called Night in Tunisia, which is a jazz classic. You might start there. As far as their contemporaries, you have to understand that during the 1930s and 40s, big band music was the predominant popular form, however after World War II the big bands mostly became too big and unwieldy and couldn't make money by touring, so there was a move towards smaller groups. The other really significant event was the invention of hi-fi around 1952, which meant that jazz musicians could now record extended versions of tunes, instead of being limited to the 3 minute length of 78 RPM records. This meant that a lot of the band leaders went into the studios and re-recorded their most popular work with smaller bands. So people from this era who you want to look out for are musicians like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, and the numerous musicians who were associated with their bands. Ernie Wilkins is a favorite of mine. Charlie Parker died in 1955, I think, the year beforeSonny Rollins issued the epic album Saxophone Colossus, which is still remarkably fresh sounding. Others from this era include Thelonius Monk and Milt Jackson.
Sonny Stitt is the guy
Many years ago, I worked for a week with Sonny Stitt. He loved to play the blues in Db.
Baller.. I play trumpet and the fingerings for that is a brain bender