Dying at the age of thirty-five is not much of an achievement. Unless, the person in question was an aspiring musician during an era when most of the jazz greats already existed and he hung around trying to create a unique sound as well as build a following of listeners. After all, a musicial instrument is nothing more than a translator of a sound coming from the artists soul that vibrates through a listeners ear. Charlie Parker had mastered the alto sax well enough to appear on the same stage as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis and with Jay McShann and his Orchestra. Of course, he did not live long enough to reach his full musicial potential.

By the time his life ended in nineteen fifty- five, future fans were still lying in cribs, toddling around in diapers or attending pre-school until later they too joined the legions already worshipping at the altar of Charlie.

Definitive is a word defined as classic or ultimate and that is the true of The Definitive CD. It has a sampler of six songs recorded during the early to late nineteen-forties. The first track Sepian Bounce takes the listener back to the fun days of bebop, swing dancing, zoot suits and flashy ladies in clunky shoes.

The second, Salt Peanuts, the third, Hot House and the fourth, Ko-Ko are tracks Charlie recorded with Dizzy Gillespie and they are more for late night listening when the mood needs something soothing drifting through the ear. The fifth track, Anthropology, Charlie recorded with Miles Davis when Miles was just getting started at the age of nineteen. The last track, Nows The Time was Charlie at his best. After all, a legendary artist does not plod along in the same way as the mere mortals. He hovers above them while at the same time he lifts them straight out of their bootstraps.