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Extraordinary cache of fifteen 16-inch direct-to-disc acetates of Charlie Parker’s early 1950’s studio recording sessions with producer Norman Granz
Charlie Parker
PARKER, Charlie (1920-1955).
Extraordinary cache of fifteen 16-inch direct-to-disc acetates of Charlie Parker’s early 1950’s studio recording sessions with producer Norman Granz.
Many of Charlie Parker’s studio recordings pre-dated the wide use of magnetic tape for mastering. Sessions were recorded direct-to-disc on heavy lacquer coated aluminium discs, known as acetates. A recording lathe would cut a groove into the surface of the spinning lacquer disc as the musicians played live in the studio, repeating a song as many times as it took for the producer to get an acceptable performance or ‘master’ take. Sometimes the producer or band would stop mid-song, resulting in a false start or incomplete take on the disc. As the lacquer discs were expensive to produce, the engineer would record multiple takes on each disc. The producer would choose a master take for each song and use these ‘masters’ to cut the parts to press a finished record.
These fifteen direct-to-disc acetates from Charlie Parker’s early 1950s recording sessions with Norman Granz include a number of master takes, as well as many false starts and incomplete or alternate takes. As magnetic tape superseded direct-to-disc as the dominant recording format, Granz transferred his masters to tape, and the original lacquers were shelved. Horrified at the request to dispose of the superfluous session acetates in the late 1960s, Granz’ then assistant Eric Miller requested to keep them, to which Granz replied ‘Sure, it’ll give you something to do in your retirement.’
A number of the recordings rescued by Miller have been released over the years. The previously unreleased material on these acetates was included in a 2014 sale to Universal of 90 minutes of Parker’s unreleased alternate takes, many of which were subsequently released on the double CD set Charlie Parker with Strings: Deluxe Edition in 2015, the double CD set Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes in 2016, and the limited edition LP Charlie Parker With Strings: Alternate Takes, released in 2019. Any unreleased music on these acetates will likely be released at some point.
Fifteen 16-inch acetates, 13 of the discs unlabelled but variously numbered and inscribed with chinagraph pencil, three with white ‘Reeves Sound Studios Inc.’ labels, with handwritten details naming the client ‘Norman Granz’ and the artist ‘Charlie Parker’, with original brown paper Soundcraft sleeves, variously inscribed in pencil with the client ‘Norman Granz’, and matrix and take numbers, some dated, with later annotations in felt pen, the records comprising:
- Dancing in the Dark, one master, one outtake; Out of Nowhere, one master, one outtake;
- Summertime, I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, and If I Should Lose You, one outtake of each; the acetate in poor condition with hazed surface;
- Bloomdido, one master, one outtake; Oscar For Treadwell, one master, one outtake
- Star Eyes, one master, three outtakes; Blues Fast, three outtakes;
- Just Friends, one master, four outtakes;
- Summertime, I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, and If I Should Lose You, all master takes;
- Everything Happens To Me, one master, two outtakes; April in Paris, two outtakes;
- I’m in the Mood For Love, one master, one outtake; I’ll Remember April, one master one outtake;
- Night and Day, two outtakes; Almost Like Being In Love, one outtake;
- Almost Like Being In Love, one master; I Can’t Get Started, one master; What is This Thing Called Love, two outtakes;
- Night and Day, one master, one outtake; Almost Like Being In Love, one outtake;
- Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins, Ballade, one master, one incomplete outtake; from the Gijon Mili and Norman Granz film project Improvisation;
- Charlie Parker and Buddy Rich, Celebrity, one master, one incomplete outtake; from the Gijon Mili and Norman Granz film project Improvisation;
- Dancing in the Dark, one master take and two alternate complete takes;
- Charlie Parker with Walter Bishop, Teddy Kotick, Roy Haynes, Jose Manguel and Luis Miranda, Why Do I Love You, one master take and two alternate complete takes, plus two incomplete outtakes;
housed in a custom black cloth slipcase; accompanied by a digital transfer of the full 90 minutes of Parker recordings sold to Universal in 2014.
Further details
These acetates are offered for sale without copyright, broadcast rights, performers consents and other reproduction rights. The buyer must apply to the relevant parties to obtain such clearance and consents as may be necessary.