Ken Burns Jazz in Bloomington, MN

With cooperation from the
Verve
and
Columbia Legacy
catalogs, the
Ken Burns Jazz
series on CD individually spotlights the musical excellence of 22 jazz originators whose careers and influence are explored in
Burns
'
PBS
documentary
Jazz
. Even though alto saxophonist
Charlie Parker
didn't record as much material as other legends in this series, it's still impossible on a single disc to achieve a thorough picture of
Bird
's influence. However, you can't go wrong with
"Ko-Ko,"
"Ornithology,"
"Anthropology,"
"Now's the Time,"
"Lover Man,"
"Yardbird Suite,"
all classic
Parker
mid- to late-'40s bebop sides on
Savoy
Dial
. Also highlighted are
"Just Friends"
from the controversial release with strings, and early performances as a member of
Dizzy Gillespie's All Star Quintet
Jay McShann's Orchestra
. While it's impossible to sum up the history of
on a single disc and aficionados will find nothing new, the highlights here keep the novice listener interested enough to continue searching out more material. ~ Al Campbell