“Bird and Diz” Album Review

Album: Bird and Diz

Artist: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie

Year: 1952

Genre: Bebop

Grade: A

Largely recorded in June 1950, the legendary Bird and Diz collaboration LP from bebop innovators Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie features one of the all-time great jazz lineups. On top of the title pair’s extraordinary saxophone/trumpet interplay, the rest of the band is filled out by Thelonious Monk on piano and Buddy Rich on drums. That’s three Colin’s Review Hall of Famers, in case you were unaware.

The most memorable song is the highly energetic “Leap Frog,” which boasts dazzling solo trade-offs between Parker and Gillespie, all atop a bevy of fiery backbeats from Rich. But the best song is “Bloomdido,” the leadoff cut, which features a perfect synthesis of each individual musician’s unique style. The musical talent on display here is unreal.

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