Charlie Parker with Strings is a
compilation album by
jazz musician
Charlie Parker, released by
Verve Records in January 1995. It is based on
recording sessions originally issued as two
albums released in
1950 on
Mercury Records. The sessions place Parker in the context of a small
classical string section and a jazz
rhythm section, rather than his standard
bebop quintet. They were Parker's most popular sellers during his lifetime, and were admitted to the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988.
Content
Under the auspices of producer
Norman Granz, Parker fulfilled a long-held desire to record in a string setting. Plans were made to release the results of the sessions as a ten-inch LP. Sessions from November 30, 1949, yielded the first
Charlie Parker With Strings album (
Mercury MG-35010), consisting of six songs total, all of which were
standards.
The success of the first album led to additional sessions on July 5, 1950, resulting in another long-playing album also entitled
Charlie Parker With Strings (
Mercury MGC-109), consisting of eight tracks, also all standards.
In 1995,
Verve Records reissued these fourteen recordings for
compact disc, including an additional ten tracks with Parker also accompanied by strings. Five date from a
Carnegie Hall concert on September 17, 1950; four more from an additional studio session in January 1952, and the last from Granz's
The Jazz Scene limited edition
78 rpms recorded in Carnegie Hall in December 1947 with
Neal Hefti.
Legacy
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