******
- Verified Buyer
Broadcast live from the club for radio, these are great recordings from September 1948 to March 1949 with the sounds of the club in the background, and periodic announcements by the DJ, Symphony Sid Torin. The 4-CD "Complete Live Performances on Savoy" is three discs recorded live at the Royal Roost and one disc recorded at Carnegie Hall and in Chicago. These highlights are all taken from the Royal Roost.The first four tracks (Monk's 52nd St. Theme, Koko, Hot House, and Chasin' the Bird) feature Miles Davis on trumpet, from September and December 1948. At that point Miles left Bird's band and made the nonet recordings with Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, and Lee Konitz that became known as "The Birth of the Cool," before signing with Prestige and forming his first great quintet. Tracks 5-13 feature Kenny Dorham on trumpet. To my ears, Dorham sounds better than Miles, playing with more flair and pushing Bird harder. The pianists are Tadd Dameron and Al Haig. The bass players are Curly Russell and Tommy Potter.The great Max Roach plays on every track but one (East of the Sun), where he is replaced by Joe Harris. On the last three cuts, from March 5, 1949, (Cheryl, Anthropology, Jumpin' with Symphony Sid), the quintet expands with the addition of Lucky Thompson on tenor sax and Milt Jackson on vibes.This is fantastic reissue. You feel like you are there hearing Bird live with your eyes closed. Bebop. "And it was good."*** *** ***The sound is surprisingly good. The original analog tapes were restored with noise reduction and re-equalization by Paul Reid III at Denon Digital. The 20-page booklet includes an essay on the club, and long detailed notes on each number by Loren Schoenberg, with several black-and-white photos.
