Search - Ira Sullivan :: Bird Lives

Nice live tribute to the King

Jazzcat | Genoa, Italy Italy | 04/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Charlie Parker was and still is the greatest improvisor in all of jazz. You can hear Parker echoes in every jazz album since 1940 and in a certain sense every one of them is a tribute to his genius. But this one is a tribute declared. I didn't know Ira Sullivan as a trumpet player when I bought this album, but being a Bird enthusiast myself, I did buy the album because it was clearly a tribute. I'm happy I did because that evening every cat of the band played a good consistent bebop. Less Parker tunes than you might think to find here, just five in a list of fifteen. Klact-oveeseds-tene, Perhaps, Si Si, Mohawk, Back home blues. There are also a tune from Dizzie (Shaw'nuff) one from Miles (Milestones "Old") and some standards (Fly me to the moon). This is phylologically correct. Bird himself played a lot of them.
Solos are good, probably nothing really memorable but they are all interesting, that's why I choose 4 stars. It's for justice.
How could I vote a true Bird record with only 5 stars if I'd give five to this one? This is a good record in the end but don't forget the original.
Quality of sound is very good, Koch records always do it properly."