This 10-CD set collects all of Parker's recordings for Norman Granz's various labels, beginning with an isolated Jazz at the Philharmonic appearance in 1946. Parker recorded exclusively for Granz beginning in late 1948, and the relationship continued to his final studio session in 1954. While the most brilliant flowers of Parker's creativity bloomed before that contract began, this set documents in meticulous detail Bird's longest relationship with a single record company and a period in which he was the most influential musician in jazz. While labels such as Savoy and Dial had been limited to recording Parker in the small groups he worked with regularly, Granz's greater resources allowed Parker to undertake the more expansive projects he sought, such as the famous recordings with strings, heard here in their entirety. Granz also recorded Parker with many of the giants of the Swing Era who made up his roster, and there are performances with many of Parker's original influences, such as Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

This 10-CD set collects all of Parker's recordings for Norman Granz's various labels, beginning with an isolated Jazz at the Philharmonic appearance in 1946. Parker recorded exclusively for Granz beginning in late 1948, and the relationship continued to his final studio session in 1954. While the most brilliant flowers of Parker's creativity bloomed before that contract began, this set documents in meticulous detail Bird's longest relationship with a single record company and a period in which he was the most influential musician in jazz. While labels such as Savoy and Dial had been limited to recording Parker in the small groups he worked with regularly, Granz's greater resources allowed Parker to undertake the more expansive projects he sought, such as the famous recordings with strings, heard here in their entirety. Granz also recorded Parker with many of the giants of the Swing Era who made up his roster, and there are performances with many of Parker's original influences, such as Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.