The Savoy session of November 26, 1945

On November 26, 1945, at WOR Studios in New York, Parker recorded for Savoy as Charlie Parker's Reboppers: Billie's Bounce, Warming Up a Riff, Now's the Time, Thriving from a Riff, Meandering and Ko-Ko. Meandering is built on the changes of Embraceable You, and Ko-Ko on Cherokee. The sources disagree on who played which instrument: Wikipedia's table has Miles Davis on trumpet on some tracks, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet on Ko-Ko and on piano elsewhere, Sadik Hakim on piano on some, Curley Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums. Ko-Ko appeared on Savoy 597, a 78 rpm single, where it was the original B-side, and later on Savoy LPs.

The Savoy master takes were collected in Complete Savoy Studio Sessions, in five LPs in 1978 and three CDs in 1986 to 1988. Jazzwise says that, though constrained by the limits of 78 rpm, it always sounds as if Parker has all the time and all the relaxation in the world.