One of the most famous live recordings in jazz history, this May 1953 concert from Toronto brought together five of bebop's greatest figures in alto saxophonist Charlie Parker (credited here as "Charlie Chan" in a purposely transparent attempt to sidestep Parker's exclusive recording arrangement with another record company), trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell, drummer Max Roach, and bassist Charles Mingus. Released following Parker's death two years after the date, the recording finds him in remarkable form, his playing robust, pointed, and witty. And although each participant is a band leader, composer, and groundbreaking stylist on his instrument, the performance demonstrates that Parker remained first among equals. Compositionally, Jazz at Massey Hall leans heavily on the bebop book developed by Gillespie, and includes "Salt Peanuts," "Wee," and "A Night in Tunisia." Also featured are Tadd Dameron's "Hot House," the Ellington standard "Perdido," and "All the Things You Are." Initially released on Debut Records, a label co-owned by Mingus and Roach, the sound quality is certainly of the time, but has benefited over the years from digital technology. --Fred Goodman (From Amazon.com)

Jim Hall's Concierto was arguably the greatest LP in the history of CTI; now that it has been reissued (for a second time, as a CD), the improved sound and packaging plus three more new tracks eclipse the earlier CD reissue on CBS Associated. With Chet Baker, Roland Hanna and Paul Desmond, Hall is perfectly complemented. A master of melody who never wastes notes, the centerpiece for this release is Hall's interpretation of one movement from Rodrigo's "Guitar Concerto," arranged by Don Sebesky. New tracks include alternate takes of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "Rock Skippin'," plus "Unfinished Business," an incomplete track that fades following Desmond's solo just as Hall starts to play (This song is actually "La Paloma Azul," a Mexican folk tune played by Paul Desmond while with the Dave Brubeck Quartet about a decade earlier, also known as "The Blue Dove"). ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide (From Amazon.ca)

The Complete in a Silent Way Sessions, the latest episode in Columbia Legacy's vast project to reissue Davis's legacy in themed boxed sets, covers just six months, from late September 1968 to late February 1969. Davis was changing course (and group personnel) so quickly that half of Filles de Kilimanjaro is included here as well as a series of dates from which he chose to release nothing (much of it initially came to light after Davis had left the label in the early 1980s, while some of it gets its first airing here). All the music for In a Silent Way was recorded in a single day in February 1969 and later edited into final form by Teo Macero. Of the sessions running up to this one, a single date in September (with Chick Corea and Dave Holland taking over from Hancock and Carter in the Quintet) realised the two Filles tracks "Mademoiselle Mabry" and "Frelon Brun": the rest (three dates) all fitted into November and added both Hancock and Joe Zawinul to the basic personnel, with Jack DeJohnette taking over from Tony Williams on the very last November session. None of this music is remotely like that on Silent Way, primarily because Tony Williams has no interest in supplying the constant rock beat Miles was heading towards, and partly because Miles had still to embrace open form. These tracks were structured compositions, however free the improvisation sounded. By February all these issues were resolved and Miles, now committed to open form, was stacking up fragmented performances to be cut together by Teo Macero. Intriguingly, this set gives us the original incomplete sections as well as Macero's edits, thereby demonstrating how and where it was done. --Keith Shadwick (From Amazon.co.uk)