BlueBird: Legendary Savoy Sessions

Personnel includes: Charlie Parker (alto & tenor saxophones); Miles Davis (trumpet); Dizzy Gillespie (piano); John Lewis (piano); Duke Jordan (piano);
Bud Powell (piano); Curley Russell (bass); Tommy Potter (bass); Nelson Boyd (bass); Max Roach (drums).
Recorded between 1945 & 1948.
Can you find the glaring omission in this otherwise excellent overview of Charlie Parker's Savoy studio recordings? Definitive, belying their label's very name, left three titles off of BlueBird: Legendary Savoy Sessions. Although "Waking Up a Riff" and "Thriving from a Riff" could conceivably be considered expendable, the absence of "Ko-Ko" constitutes a serious lapse of judgment on the part of the producers of this compilation. Built upon the chord progressions of Ray Noble's "Cherokee," "Ko-Ko" is a fundamental milestone of modern music. Why was it not included here? Even allowing for the space taken up by four titles from Miles Davis' first session as a leader, there would and should have been room for "Ko-Ko." This is a great little album with one gravely unfortunate flaw. Maybe some other Charlie Parker Savoy collection would be a wiser choice. ~ arwulf arwulf