Golden Greats - Charlie Parker

Advantages: Charlie Parker of course.
Disadvantages: None.

..., lovely smooth key changes. Not sure who the trumpet player is, I supect Dizzy Gillespie, it is superb and he goes head to head with Parker. 3. Groovin High Much more edgy from Parker, using more register jumps and very much in keeping with the drummer. I would imagine this was (as is) ultra cool at the time. 4. Hot House Great drum solo starts us off then in comes Charlie with a horn full of sharps and quirky key changes, sticking very much to the high notes, this is the Parker I like, doing his own thing. Up and down the sacles and arpeggios, seemingly at will, brilliant. 5. Be Bop a Lula Ah! I hear you cry, now I know where the 'other' song has it's roots, this aint the rock n roll version. This is sheer bebop, incredibly fast piano playing matched by parkers playing. Disjointed, quirky and sublime. 6. Crazeology More... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great jazz tunes from the Golden Age
Disadvantages: None

...This is real jazz, from the real Golden Age of Jazz. It's got the pace, the rhythm, the fluid trumpet playing, the relentlessly enthusiastic, rolling piano playing and the clear diction of some excellent singing of vocalists who could not only hold a tune, but who could capture your heart and soul, too… There's musicians with such great names as Muggsy Spanier, Meade Lux Lewis, King Oliver and Sidney Bechet. You do not get musicians called Muggsy nowadays. I wonder why? As well as straight out jazz such as the Dippermouth blues, there's also the dreamy and melodic April in Paris from Charlie Parker. Some jazz aficionados reckon that Charlie Parker eventually sold out. Well, perhaps he did. But some of his earlier work still stands the test of time. Jack Teagarden is on this CD, with So Many Times, a rather nice, well... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: It's Buddy Holly - Enough Said!
Disadvantages: Unfortunately, Buddy's guitar disappears behind the over dubbing

...Unfortunately after Buddy's death, his Manager, Norman Petty hired the Fireballs, who overdubbed much of the original guitar and music by Buddy & the Crickets. The result is that the original music is so far back in the mix, they might as well have not bothered! Buddy Holly was without doubt a musical genius, he was experiementing with elementary overdubbing before his untimely and tragic death. Therefore it is a great shame that Norman Petty treated his music this way. If you want to hear the real Buddy Holly, then there are available collections which have the original undubbed music on them, but you may have to shop around. Buddy's music is far too important and indeed, enjoyable to be treated this way, and you the listener deserve the real thing, rather than a heavily overdubbed version.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful