This collection of 78 rpm singles, all recorded on June 6, 1950, was released in 1956. Several things distinguish this from numerous other quintet recordings featuring these two bebop pioneers. It was recorded during the period that
Parker was working under the aegis of producer
Norman Granz, whose preference for large and unusual ensembles was notorious. The end result in this case is a date that sounds very much like those that
Parker and
Gillespie recorded for Savoy and Dial, except with top-of-the-line production quality. Even more interesting, though, is
Parker's choice of
Thelonious Monk as pianist. Unfortunately,
Monk is buried in the mix and gets very little solo space, so his highly idiosyncratic genius doesn't get much exposure here. Still, this is an outstanding album -- there are fine versions of
Parker standards like "Leap Frog," "Mohawk," and "Relaxin' with Lee," as well as a burning performance of "Bloomdido" and twjo interesting (if not entirely thrilling) renditions of the chestnut "My Melancholy Baby." ~ Rick Anderson