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Clef · 1955

Charlie Parker with Strings

Charlie Parker

Recorded: November 30, 1949 & July 5, 1950   Original cat#: MG C-675
Charlie Parker — Charlie Parker with Strings album cover

Charlie Parker with Strings began as two 10" albums for Norman Granz. The first session, on November 30, 1949, in New York, produced six tracks, and the second, on July 5, 1950, produced eight. Jimmy Carroll and Joe Lipman arranged and conducted. Mitch Miller played oboe, Ray Brown bass and Buddy Rich drums, with Parker set against a small classical string section.

Clef combined the two 10" albums onto one 12" LP in 1955 as MG C-675, per its Discogs entry. That is the first single-album version of the program. The catalogue history around it is tangled, and the same recordings later appeared under a different title. Sources also disagree on the early Mercury and Clef numbering, so several entries here are listed without a tier.

Best early pressing for audiophiles: Clef MG C-675 (1955). The first 12" consolidation of both 10" volumes.

Best modern pressing for audiophiles: None confirmed. No modern reissue with a named mastering engineer could be verified.

Best-value modern: The 2013 Verve 180g reissue, with the caveat that owner reports on its surface noise conflict.

Recording history and tape provenance

Parker had wanted to record with strings for years, and Granz arranged it. The sessions became his best-selling records during his lifetime, ahead of his quintet material.

The two 10" volumes appeared on Mercury around 1950 and 1951, as MG C-501 and MG C-509. That is the sequence in the Charlie Parker discography on Wikipedia. The Discogs entry for the 1955 12" describes it as a compilation of those two records. It also notes that MG C-501 appeared as MG C-170.

Sources disagree on the earliest numbering of the first 10". Wikipedia has it released as Mercury MG-35010, then reissued as MG C-501 and then MG C-101. A Mercury-label discography gives the same starting point but the reverse order afterwards, MG C-101 before MG C-501. Neither could be confirmed.

Original Clef and Mercury pressings

Clef MG C-675 (1955) is the 12" consolidation and the standard vinyl document of these sessions. Side A carries the first 10" album and side B the second. An Australian Clef pressing is also reported in its Discogs comments.

Discogs lists a 1954 10" pressing of the first volume. Prices for the 10" volumes are generally higher than for the 12".

The same recordings as "April in Paris"

Columbia reissued the 1955 album in 1956 under the title April in Paris, credited to Charlie Parker with Strings, per Wikipedia. Verve reissued it again in 1957 as April in Paris: The Genius of Charlie Parker #2, catalogue MGV-8004.

The Verve discography lists MGV-8004 as a reissue of Clef MGC 675. A mid-1970s Book of the Month Club pressing of the same album, catalogue 50-5263, carries silver-on-black "T" labels. One owner review calls its mono sound clean, with a midrange lift.

Buyers hunting the string sessions on vinyl should therefore search both titles. An April in Paris copy holds the same program as MG C-675.

Later reissues

The 2013 Verve 180g reissue reuses the MG C-675 catalogue number and is listed as stereo, although the recordings predate stereo. Owner reviews conflict. Two describe flat, quiet copies, and one reports heavy surface noise, no separation and flat sound.

A limited blue-vinyl DMM edition, catalogue 840110, appears in reviews on the Discogs master. Its label, year and mastering credit are not established.

In the mid-1970s Verve issued a three-part chronological series of Parker's Verve-era master takes as three 2LP sets. The middle set, The Verve Years (1950–51), catalogue VE-2-2512, covers most of the string material. It also carries unrelated quintet tracks with Miles Davis and a session with Coleman Hawkins. It is a career survey, not a dedicated strings album.

Buyer's guide by budget

$$: The Verve Years (1950–51) (VE-2-2512), if mixed programming is acceptable. Prices are usually low.

$$$: A Verve or Book of the Month Club April in Paris pressing, which holds the same program under another title.

$$$$: A clean Clef MG C-675, the original 12" consolidation.

Pressing tier summary

Tier ⇅ Pressing Cat# Year ⇅ Format Source / Mastering Notes Market ⇅
A Clef 12" LP, consolidating both 10" volumes MG C-675 1955 Mono, 33⅓ Clef lacquer First single-album version of the program
12 for sale · from $30
$624VG+
$816NM
$913M
B The Verve Years (1950–51), 2LP chronological set VE-2-2512 Mid-1970s Mono, 33⅓, 2LP gatefold Verve lacquer Adds unrelated Miles Davis quintet and Coleman Hawkins material –
C Verve 180g reissue MG C-675 2013 Listed as stereo, 33⅓, 180g Not credited Owner reports conflict, from flat and quiet to heavy surface noise
20 for sale · from $16
$50VG+
$65NM
$73M
– Mercury/Clef 10" volume 1 MG C-501 1954 pressing listed Mono, 33⅓, 10" Mercury/Clef lacquer Not rated. Early numbering disputed
5 for sale · from $11
$85VG+
$111NM
$124M
– April in Paris, Book of the Month Club 50-5263 Mid-1970s Mono, 33⅓ Verve-era lacquer Not rated. Same program, different title. One positive owner review
2 for sale · from $10
$44VG+
$57NM
$64M
– Blue vinyl DMM edition 840110 – Mono, 33⅓, 180g Not credited Not rated. Known only from Discogs owner reviews –

References

Related guides: Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings · Bird and Diz

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