Charlie Parker Quintet, “My Old Flame/Bird Feathers,” Dial(US), Label #1058, 10” 78rpm, 1947.

Dial record label was established in 1946 and specialized in bebop. Over the course of two years it held 16 recording sessions with Charlie Parker (featuring Miles Davis and Max Roach), Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Coleman, and Dexter Gordon, among others. Following the AFM recording ban, Dial was one of a few independent labels to release this newly developed style of jazz that was largely neglected due to the ban. This issue is particularly rare and is valued at $100.

Charlie Parker is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential instrumentalists of jazz and helped to developed Bebop with Dizzy Gillespie. This style of jazz is characterized by a fast tempo, and complex chord progressions with rapid chord and key changes. The creators also exhibited high virtuosity on their instruments which also enabled skilled improvisations based on the harmonic structure of a piece. At this time, Parker’s life was out of control due to an extreme heroin addiction. In 1946 he had spent time at California’s Camarillo State Hospital to attempt to treat this. Upon his release in 1947, he returned to New York and formed his “classic quintet” with Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach, whom are featured on this record.

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