The two sessions legendary bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker recorded with a string section (three to five violins, viola, and cello), harp, xylophone, oboe, French horn, tuba, and a standard jazz rhythm section of piano, bass and drums are some of his most beautiful material. All the tunes are jazz standards — “Summertime,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” etc., and his playing is subdued and romantic, with few of the pyrotechnic extrapolations that were his trademark in small group contexts. Some bebop diehards have expressed the opinion that this more subtle material represents some kind of sellout, but the recordings were Parker’s idea, and the orchestrations are far from bland or boring; the way his high-pitched alto is balanced by the slightly lower oboe in particular is fascinating, and he does occasionally leap out, as on “They Can’t…,” when his second entrance after a brief interlude of piano is a sudden waterfall of notes.

– Phil Freeman