Review: A 1957 release, and the third in a series of albums expanding on Bird's 10" Clef releases from the early 1950s, Now's The Time boasts some of Parker's purest recordings and strongest playing, featuring two different quartets. His lyrical and fluid improvisations on cuts like 'The Song Is You' and 'Laird Baird' are on full display, prime examples of his unmatched genius. Further delights include the original 'Cosmic Rays', a slow bop on which Parker's sax pops out like a virtuosic winged insect buzzing about its relatively quiet flower; and 'Chi Chi' which, by contrast, takes us by the ear and hurls us down an urbane but brisk sonic chute, its confident combination of rhythm section and Bird lead happily skipping away, but never stumbling.
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