Live at Rockland Palace


Live at Rockland Palace, also released as The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, is a live album by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, recorded in 1952 with strings at Rockland Palace in Harlem. The event was a benefit concert for local politician Benjamin Davis.

History

A dance had been organized for Benjamin J. Davis Jr., who had been convicted during the Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders. Charlie Parker's quintet was hired in addition to a string section; none of the string personnel have been identified. Unusually for a Parker quintet record, the second soloist of the band was a guitarist rather than a trumpet player.
The recordings at the dance hall were made on bootleg private tapes, and most in circulation were of poor quality prior to the restoration carried out for the 1997 release. One track, "Lester Leaps In" was recorded simultaneously by two bootleg tape recorders, and the two were brought together to create stereo sound.

Reception

Cub Koda of AllMusic wrote positively of the album, describing it as "n important chapter in Parker's musical history". Tom Storer wrote, "there is Bird at the front of the proceedings, playing at all times with sheer joy and thrilling aplomb. There is no point listing high points, since there are so many."
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz noted, "the general standard is high and the string settings are not too egregious."

Track listing

  1. "Rocker" — 3:57
  2. "Moose The Mooche" — 4:56
  3. "Just Friends" — 3:04
  4. "My Little Suede Shoes" — 4:10
  5. "I'll Remember April" — 1:15
  6. "Sly Mongoose" — 4:54
  7. "Laura" — 3:01
  8. "Star Eyes" — 2:30
  9. "This Time The Dream's On Me" — 6:08
  10. "You'd Be So Easy to Love" — 1:54
  11. "Cool Blues" — 3:18
  12. "What Is This Thing Called Love?" — 2:07
  13. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" — 2:37
  14. "Repetition" — 2:40
  15. "Lester Leaps In" — 3:47
  16. "East of the Sun" — 3:10
  17. "April In Paris" — 2:51
  18. "Out of Nowhere" — 2:47
  19. "Rocker" — 5:18

Personnel