A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 1
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 2
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 3
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 4
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 5
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53 - photo 6

A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53

Lot 178
28.09.2023 13:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 6 300
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1016475
Lot 178 | A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53
Estimate value
£ 8 000 – 12 000
A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53

Charles “Charlie,” Jr. Parker

PARKER, Charles “Charlie,” Jr. (1920-1955), Miles DAVIS (1926-1991), Lester YOUNG (1909-1959) et al.



A collection of 23 original 12-inch acetates of airshots, including 17 of Charlie Parker, from the archive of the legendary amateur recordist Boris Rose, 1948-53.



Boris Rose (1918-2000), a sound engineer from the Bronx, was by all accounts a compulsive collector who recorded radio performances and broadcasts, making homemade acetates and bootleg records available to jazz fans for decades. Writing about Rose’s extensive archive for the Wall Street Journal in 2010, William Friedwald remarked that he ‘was one of those legendary characters who seem to proliferate in the world of jazz… An inveterate prankster, he dreamed up a dizzying array of fake label names… many of which he tried to pass off as European imports… The truth was that Mr. Rose produced them all from his brownstone on East 10th Street. "I always felt something about jazz," Mr. Rose said in an undated interview with historian Dan Morgenstern… "As far back as 1930, I listened to broadcasts from the Cotton Club. I heard Duke, I heard Don Redman, I heard Cab Calloway… As far back as 1940, I purchased a home [disc-cutter] recorder and I began to dub records.” From there, he branched out to recording radio broadcasts and then live bands in clubs. "I had professional equipment and began to take down all of these jazz broadcasts," he explained. "First on 16-inch acetate discs. Later on, when tape came into the picture, I was able to record on tape."' Friedwald notes that ‘the centerpiece of the Rose archive is the Birdland Collection: Mr. Rose recorded virtually every band that played this most legendary of jazz joints, either directly off the airwaves or by smuggling a concealed tape recorder into the club.’ Over the years, he amassed an enormous archive, documenting an entire era of music. Highlights present here are Bird at St. Nicks, along with radio broadcasts from the Royal Roost, Birdland, the Band Box, Café Society, and Carnegie Hall, offering a remarkable overview of Charlie Parker’s live repertoire during this period. Other artists represented include Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Count Basie, Lester Young, Bud Powell and Coleman Hawkins. ‘We should thank goodness that someone was documenting these broadcasts,’ proclaims music critic John Corbett, ‘or they might have been lost forever.’ Corbett, Vinyl Freak, November 2004. Cummings, Democracy of Sound, 65. Driggs and Haddix, ix. Friedwald, WSJ, 4 December 2010.



Twenty-three 12-inch acetates, the majority of the white labels with typewritten titles and track listings, some with handmade sleeves, the others with white card sleeves, some of the sleeves with handwritten track listings, the Charlie Parker recordings comprising:



- Bird at St. Nick’s, featuring the Charlie Parker Quintet with Red Rodney, Al Haig, Tommy Potter and Roy Haynes at St. Nicholas Arena, New York, 18 February 1950. Parker scholar Lawrence O. Koch notes: ‘There is a different parker here than on any other recording. He is extremely inventive and free, and there is much humour and abandon in his playing… an essential item’;

- Bird on 52nd Street, featuring Charlie Parker at the Onyx Club, New York, 6 July 1948, recorded by Dean Benedetti;

- Charlie Parker, one side featuring White Christmas, Slow Boat to China and This Time the Dream’s On Me, possibly at Royal Roost, New York, December 1948, the other side featuring Tiger Rag, presumably Dizzy Gillespie at WOR Studios, New York, 20 September 1947, and Dizzy Atmosphere and Rifftide, possibly at Café Society, New York, Autumn 1949 or Spring 1950, according to Koch, with dark green pebble grain sleeve inscribed ‘Charlie Parker’;

- Birdomania, one side featuring Lullaby in Rhythm at Café Society, New York, May/July 1950, and Lament for the Congo [Bongo Ballad] at Renaissance Ballroom, New York, 19 or 20 May 1950, the other side featuring Moose the Mooche and 52nd Street Theme at Café Society, New York, June/July 1950, with an attractive handmade sleeve;

- Charlie Parker, one side featuring Parker at Birdland, New York, 24 March 1951, the other featuring Parker at Carnegie Hall, New York, 14 November 1952, and at Birdland, 20 September 1952, with a handmade sleeve;

- Rose Records – Rose 20, featuring Charlie Parker at the Band Box, New York, on 16 February, 23 March and 30 March 1953, and at Birdland on 30 May 1953, white record sleeve with handwritten track listing;

- Charlie Parker, one side featuring Parker at the Band Box, New York, 30 March 1953, the other featuring an Interview with the Bird with Marshall Stearns and John Maher, New York, 1 May 1950. Koch refers to this as a ‘famous oral interview… Bird speaks of his parents and childhood, his musical beginnings and early experiences, his marriage and his son.’ Koch, 204.

- Another copy of the above, the white sleeve with handwritten track listing;

- Charlie Parker at the Café Society, New York, probably Spring 1950, with homemade paper sleeve;

- Charlie Parker, side one featuring Parker at Birdland, 23 May 1950, and side two possibly featuring Parker at Café Society, New York, June 1950;

- Rose Records – Rose 30, featuring Parker at Birdland on 24 March 1951 and 20 September 1952, the latter date with Charles Mingus, the white paper sleeve with handwritten track listing;

- Parker Broadcasts, featuring Charlie Parker at the Royal Roost, New York, 12 December 1948, 12 February, 26 February and 5 March 1949, the white paper sleeve with handwritten track listing;

- Parker Broadcasts, side one featuring Parker with Dizzy Gillespie at WOR Studios, New York, 20 September 1947, and at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, 5 March 1949, side two featuring five tracks almost certainly from a tribute concert commemorating Duke Ellington’s 25 years as leader at Carnegie Hall, 14-15 November 1952, broadcast by WNBC Radio, the white paper sleeve with handwritten track listing. Koch notes that the 20 September 1947 date at WOR Studios is ‘unbelievable and must be heard by anyone interested in the music of the period’;

- Parker Broadcasts, featuring Parker at Birdland, 23 May 1950 and 7 April 1951, and at Café Society, New York, probably 1 June 1950, the white paper sleeve with handwritten track listing;

- Charlie Parker, featuring Parker at the Band Box, New York, 16 February, 23 March and 30 March 1953;

- Charlie Parker with Buddy Stewart and Dave Lambert, featuring Parker at the Royal Roost, New York, 5 March 1949, the white paper sleeve titled and dated in ink;

- Rose Records – Rose 31, featuring Parker at Birdland on 30 June 1950 and 7 April 1951, and at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, on 5 March 1949, the white paper sleeve with handwritten track listing;



the six further acetates including Fats Navarro with the Tadd Dameron Band, October 1948; Count Basie on CBS, 9 July 1938; Lester Young at Birdland, July 1953; Miles Davis at the Royal Roost, September 1948; and two WNEW Sunday Afternoon Jam Sessions; the collection housed in a carpet covered flight case. Provenance: Boris Rose (1918-2000; amateur recordist).





Further details

These recordings are offered for sale without copyright, broadcast rights, performers consents and other reproduction rights. The buyer must apply to the relevant parties to obtain such clearance and consents as may be necessary.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.09.2023 – 28.09.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Concert programme signed
Concert programme signed
£100
An archive of eleven rare 78 rpm Savoy Records test pressings, including Charlie Parker’s landmark first studio recordings as leader, from the collection of legendary Savoy producer Teddy Reig, 1944-46
An archive of eleven rare 78 rpm Savoy Records test pressings, including Charlie Parker’s landmark first studio recordings as leader, from the collection of legendary Savoy producer Teddy Reig, 1944-46
£6 000
Document signed
Document signed
£1 200
An instrument case, personally owned and used by Charlie “Bird” Parker, dating from his trip to Sweden in November 1950
An instrument case, personally owned and used by Charlie “Bird” Parker, dating from his trip to Sweden in November 1950
£3 000
Three autograph notes from Charlie Parker to his common-law wife Chan Parker, early 1950s
Three autograph notes from Charlie Parker to his common-law wife Chan Parker, early 1950s
£1 500
Part-printed document signed in black ink 'Charlie Parker', 19 May 1954
Part-printed document signed in black ink 'Charlie Parker', 19 May 1954
£1 500
Promotional mailer signed
Promotional mailer signed
£1 200

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>