DIALED UP:

On the evening of Feb. 26, 1946, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker signed a one-year contract at the Tempo Music Shop in Hollywood, Calif., to record exclusively for Dial Records. The agreement was a breakthrough for the rising bebop star, allowing him to record his improvised blues rather than the frantic jazz style popular back in New York. Over the next two years, Dial's recordings by Parker and local bebop musicians not only radicalized jazz in Los Angeles but also had an electrifying effect on the city's "jump blues"--an up-tempo boogie-woogie that would become known formally in 1949 as "rhythm and blues." [...]

Though many of the recordings in the Mosaic box have been issued in various forms on collections over the years, the new restoration and mastering by Steve Marlowe and Jonathan Horwich provide a much brighter and broader listen. Throughout the set, there are crisp and forceful reminders of Parker's melodic brilliance and fluidity during his Los Angeles stay, including the catchy "Moose the Mooche," the dramatic "Yardbird Suite" and a thrilling "Ornithology"--which he based on the chord changes to "How High the Moon." Other examples of bebop's development in L.A. include recordings by Sonny Berman's Big Eight--an octet offshoot from Woody Herman's big band--trumpeters Howard McGhee and Fats Navarro, pianist Dodo Marmarosa, and saxophonists Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Teddy Edwards.

There also are pained artistic moments, such as Parker's July 29, 1946, recording session. Coping with heroin withdrawal, Parker struggled through four songs, including halting and endearing renditions of "Lover Man" and "The Gypsy." Back at his hotel that night, Parker suffered a mental breakdown and twice wandered into the lobby naked. After setting fire to his bed, Parker was arrested and imprisoned for 10 days before Russell was able to negotiate a six-month stay at California's Camarillo State Hospital. Released in late January 1947, Parker resumed recording, and his Dial efforts included refreshing, upbeat blues like "Relaxin' at Camarillo" and "Carvin' the Bird," and the breezy "Stupendous," based on Gershwin's "'S Wonderful."

In 1947, Gordon's muscular tenor-sax duel with Wardell Gray on "The Chase" and with Edwards on "The Duel" featured chorus after chorus of blistering improvisation. The 78s and Gordon's live tenor battles at local clubs were carefully studied by the city's jump-blues artists. Two No. 1 R&B hits in early 1949 were instrumentals by saxophonists--Big Jay McNeely's "The Deacon's Hop" and Paul Williams's "The Huckle-Buck," which was inspired by Parker's "Now's the Time."

But despite Dial's efforts to widen bebop's appeal in Los Angeles, the music never caught on. A growing percentage of the city's white population had migrated from the South and Southwest after the war, and the region's suburban sprawl wasn't conducive to bebop's grinding intensity. Throughout 1947, Parker, Gordon and many other jazz artists left Los Angeles for New York, where studio and club work was more plentiful. Even Russell gave up on jazz at the end of 1948 and began issuing modern classical recordings starting in 1949.

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