- Format: CD
- Label: Fantasy
- Genre: Jazz
Founded in New York in 1952 by bassist/composer Charles Mingus in association with wife Celia and drummer Max Roach, Debut Records was a valiant attempt by jazz musicians to control their own music. Caught in the transition from 78-RPM singles to 10-inch LPs, then 12-inch LPs, and plagued by distribution problems, the company lasted only five years, yet managed to record an exceptional body of music, including albums by Mingus, Miles Davis, Paul Bley, Thad Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Bud Powell, and a "dream" combo comprised of Mingus, Roach, Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker known simply as "The Quintet." These artists are featured in this portrait of Debut, along with tracks by Ralph Burns, Charlie Christian, Al Haig, and Wardell Gray made for the contemporaneous indies Period, Esoteric, and Seeco.
Track listing:The Quintet: Perdido; Charles Mingus: Serenade in Blue; Ada Moore: The Man I Love; Miles Davis: Nature Boy; Bud Powell: Embraceable You; Kenny Dorham: Ruby, My Dear (take 2); Oscar Pettiford: The Pendulum at Falcon's Lair; Thad Jones: I'll Remember April; Hazel Scott: Peace of Mind; Charlie Parker: Ornithology; Al Haig/Stan Getz: Pennies from Heaven; Al Haig/Wardell Gray: Sugar Hill; The Birdlanders: Indiana; Ralph Burns: Bijou; Charlie Christian/Thelonious Monk: Swing to Bop; Roy Eldridge/Flip Phillips: How High the Moon
