It’s often difficult for those interested in testing jazz waters to know where to begin. The choices are overwhelming, especially for those who have yet to discover where their passions lie.

Compilations like this Savoy two-disc set fills the bill for new listeners as well those with a desire to rekindle a past flame for jazz that may have grown cool. One thing is guaranteed, this music, recorded from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s featuring greats like saxophonists Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, bassist Charles Mingus and pianist Marian McPartland swings like crazy. It’s a pure a simple fact.

Really digging into one artist also offers great satisfaction. It’s much like spending a long night reminiscing with a good friend—you discover new things about them, understand them a little better.

In celebration of its anniversary, the Savoy label released three discs of nothing but Bird, Bird, Bird from the mid-to-late-1940s. We hear the saxophonist as a sideman on his first recording with guitarist Tiny Grimes and leading a string of what became his own historic groups including his Reboppers where his sax meets the double brass trouble of trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.

Their “Warmin’ Up a Riff” (now when was the last time I listened to that?) just kills. Other hard-hitting Parker-led groups include his septet, quartet, New Stars and All Stars. The material compiled here is considered by many to be the saxophonist’s most important recorded works.

Excellent sound quality allows Parker’s horn to jump as it did 50 years ago. Like fans back in the day, we’d follow him anywhere.