This "Best Of" collection may just be the ticket for all of those Bird fans who were upset by the slip-shod packaging of "The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings." These are unquestionably the recordings upon which the Charlie Parker genius and musical legacy must primarily rest, and the listener will not have to wade through dozens of alternate takes and false starts to discover the real Bird. The sound mastering, while distorted on a few tracks (the price of introducing more "presence" into the alto saxophone's sound), is the best I've encountered--in fact, the CD definitely eclipses the Ken Burns' single-disc compilation in terms of audio quality as well as song selection. My disappointment at the omission of "Donna Lee" is compensated for by the inclusion of both "Embraceable You" (the celebrated version) and "Night in Tunisia" (but not the concert version with Diz containing the famous 4-bar break).

Unlike some collectors, I find the fold-out cardboard container, with large-scale photos and ample notes, preferable to another broken plastic jewel case.

One caveat: Producer Orrin Keepnews' notes are written neither for the neophyte nor this single-disc down-sized edition. Aside from factual matters such as dates and personnel, they're pretty useless. The music, on the other hand (even as I'm now listening to Bird's bracing and brilliant playing), is simply priceless.

If you are a "Bird" fan this album is a must. It contains his best early works; especially his recordings on the"Dial' label.

guy is amazing. troubled life led to a short career. there's no way to describe his style. he's a genius and truly original

I always thought that the Charlie parker on Savoy and Dial is the best performances except, At Messy Hall and may be the new discovery of Live In Town Hall. there is not much time to strach here but...every solo... taking by Bird shall be framed in GOLD....these are the famous takes that the detail trnscribtions are available in a book called the Charlie Parker Omni Book. If all the english language student have to read Shakepeer ..then every jazz musicicn should listen and study these recordings and then get the books and study every note that he played...this is the must study Shakspeer in jazz....this is the Birth Of Modern Music in entire world..!!forget about sound quality and other mother jazz...!!