What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Joseph K]

This session is a desert island job for me, if I could go back in time this is the session I would be transported to - sheer genius.

https://youtu.be/LphuCadyQi0

elmo

[Stanfordian]

‘Clubhouse’ - Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon with Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw & Billy Higgins
Blue Note Classic (1965)

[burning dog]

Elmo's post (wonderful) reminded me of this.

Amazing that this gig took place in June 1945, with Gillespie, Parker & Roach - bebop fully formed. Sid Catlett appears on two tracks , brilliant ensemble drumming from him but his solo seems a bit old fashioned now. Historical context - USA were still at war with Japan. Gillespie embodies the concept of virtuosity here IMO. His break on "Tunisia" (13:13)!! Other trumpeters may have played as fast but not with this musicality.

PS The first Charlie Parker record I bought (I'd heard him on older expensive records) was a 99p disc on SAGA, not long after decimalisation as it had 19/6 on the label as well - robbed of one and a half "new pence"! Tracks from the Royal Roost and Cafe Society

[Joseph K]

Currently the second disk of this.

Currently the fourth and final disk of this.

The fuckwit radio announcer spoke right in the middle of Bird's solo on 'Cheryl'.

[elmo]

Elmo's post (wonderful) reminded me of this.

Amazing that this gig took place in June 1945, with Gillespie, Parker & Roach - bebop fully formed. Sid Catlett appears on two tracks , brilliant ensemble drumming from him but his solo seems a bit old fashioned now. Historical context - USA were still at war with Japan. Gillespie embodies the concept of virtuosity here IMO. His break on "Tunisia" (13:13)!! Other trumpeters may have played as fast but not with this musicality.

video=youtube;FKCNA5ISjko]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCNA5ISjko[/video]

PS The first Charlie Parker record I bought (I'd heard him on older expensive records) was a 99p disc on SAGA, not long after decimalisation as it had 19/6 on the label as well - robbed of one and a half "new pence"! Tracks from the Royal Roost and Cafe Society

BIRD LIVES.....(and Diz)

My first Bird album was a full price 32/6 on Columbia called "Portrait of the Bird" ( Dial label stuff and the 1947 Carnegie hall gig with Dizzy)
I had to make concrete blocks for my old man for 3 Saturdays on the trot to be able to buy it but boy was it worth it.

Break out the Shades and Beret............

elmo

[burning dog]

BIRD LIVES.....(and Diz)

My first Bird album was a full price 32/6 on Columbia called "Portrait of the Bird" ( Dial label stuff and the 1947 Carnegie hall gig with Dizzy)
I had to make concrete blocks for my old man for 3 Saturdays on the trot to be able to buy it but boy was it worth it.

Break out the Shades and Beret............

elmo

https://www.cdandlp.com/en/charlie-parker/vol-3-groovin-high/lp/r119049772/

[Stanfordian]

Grover Washington Jr.
‘Inner City Blues’
Kudu Records (1972)

[Jazzrook]

Charlie Parker, Lennie Tristano & Kenny Clarke(on telephone book!) in August 1951:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB7ad5sEp-8

JR

[eighthobstruction]

....love this....voice + backing....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTRQJx8J0NQ

[Serial_Apologist]

....love this....voice + backing....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTRQJx8J0NQ

Clever harmonics by playing and simultaneously singing into the sax on or close to the same pitches. It's one way players, especially of the freer persuasions although it goes back to the blues sax players, get the shriek effect into/out of an instrument. Alan Wilkinson makes a baritone sax howl like an elephant in agony this way. Not the way to win people to jazz, especially newcomers, to quote someone somewhere else on this board.

Incidentally, has anybody tried singing at the same time as whistling? I have found it possible to sing and whistle on the same pitches simultaneously, which produces buzzing harmonics, but something in my brain (sawdust??) prevents me from trying to sing a different line, even in parallel, let alone taking a different path. Maybe success is achievable, but not without madness?

[gradus]

In the fifties/sixties there was a Canadian comedian who could whistle and hum different tunes simultaneously but I can't remember his name! The tunes in question were Dvorak's Humoresque and Way Down upon the Swanee River. He may have performed others but if he did I've forgotten them. I don't think he went mad but I could be mistaken.

[Ian Thumwood]

Elmo's post (wonderful) reminded me of this.

Amazing that this gig took place in June 1945, with Gillespie, Parker & Roach - bebop fully formed. Sid Catlett appears on two tracks , brilliant ensemble drumming from him but his solo seems a bit old fashioned now. Historical context - USA were still at war with Japan. Gillespie embodies the concept of virtuosity here IMO. His break on "Tunisia" (13:13)!! Other trumpeters may have played as fast but not with this musicality.

PS The first Charlie Parker record I bought (I'd heard him on older expensive records) was a 99p disc on SAGA, not long after decimalisation as it had 19/6 on the label as well - robbed of one and a half "new pence"! Tracks from the Royal Roost and Cafe Society

The clip is absolutely staggering and the sound quality is amazing.

When I was a teenager getting in to jazz , I had to discover Charlie Parker on my own because my Dad did not care for Bebop. However, because I was brought up listening to jazz from the 30s and 40s Parker's innovations were more apparent than if I have worked my way back to his music. Parker became a bit of an obsession for me and the whole feel of jazz from the mid-40's onwards seemed like a real step change. Trying to put on finger on the point at which the music changed was always something that fascinated me. It still seems to have an aura of magic about it.

These days I find that my opinion of Charlie Parker has changed. The occasional track like that posted is exciting but I have a 3-CD set amongst my collection and find that it can be a hard listen over the duration as there is so little variety, especially with the unison horn lines which become monotonous after a while. . In the end, I can really appreciate why Parker felt burnt out and wanted to take lessons with Edgar Varese. The music all ideas he had were almost too great for the jazz of the time to absorb. I would also have to say that having tried playing some Parker transcriptions, they have a stand alone quality about them akin to Bach cello suites. They are extremely well structured. Even more amazing is how Parker played phrases against Latin rhythms. Not sure if anyone have the Parker Latin Aebersold play-a-long but this is almost impossible to play because of the accent of the beats.

The major negative thing about Parker was that of all the great , innovative geniuses in jazz (Armstrong, Young, Hawkins, Ellington, Monk, Coltrane, Ornette, etc) , he is the only one that I feel never fulfilled his potential. It is easy to forget that he was only about 25 in the clip posted and most of his best work was done before he was 30. It would have been interesting to see what he could have achieved and where his music might have gone in the 1960s. Imagine how good the music would have been with Herbie, Ron Carter and Tony Williams backing him and how inspired Parker would have been by a harmonic player like Hancock. I think that Parker was too far ahead of his contemporaries and was perhaps frustrated by the musical constraints in jazz at the time. Myabe the closest to where he could have been was perhaps Cannonball with Miles ?

[Joseph K]

The clip is absolutely staggering and the sound quality is amazing.

When I was a teenager getting in to jazz , I had to discover Charlie Parker on my own because my Dad did not care for Bebop. However, because I was brought up listening to jazz from the 30s and 40s Parker's innovations were more apparent than if I have worked my way back to his music. Parker became a bit of an obsession for me and the whole feel of jazz from the mid-40's onwards seemed like a real step change. Trying to put on finger on the point at which the music changed was always something that fascinated me. It still seems to have an aura of magic about it.

These days I find that my opinion of Charlie Parker has changed. The occasional track like that posted is exciting but I have a 3-CD set amongst my collection and find that it can be a hard listen over the duration as there is so little variety, especially with the unison horn lines which become monotonous after a while. . In the end, I can really appreciate why Parker felt burnt out and wanted to take lessons with Edgar Varese. The music all ideas he had were almost too great for the jazz of the time to absorb. I would also have to say that having tried playing some Parker transcriptions, they have a stand alone quality about them akin to Bach cello suites. They are extremely well structured. Even more amazing is how Parker played phrases against Latin rhythms. Not sure if anyone have the Parker Latin Aebersold play-a-long but this is almost impossible to play because of the accent of the beats.

The major negative thing about Parker was that of all the great , innovative geniuses in jazz (Armstrong, Young, Hawkins, Ellington, Monk, Coltrane, Ornette, etc) , he is the only one that I feel never fulfilled his potential. It is easy to forget that he was only about 25 in the clip posted and most of his best work was done before he was 30. It would have been interesting to see what he could have achieved and where his music might have gone in the 1960s. Imagine how good the music would have been with Herbie, Ron Carter and Tony Williams backing him and how inspired Parker would have been by a harmonic player like Hancock. I think that Parker was too far ahead of his contemporaries and was perhaps frustrated by the musical constraints in jazz at the time. Myabe the closest to where he could have been was perhaps Cannonball with Miles ?

Do you know this book?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlie-Parker-Music-Michigan-American/dp/0472085557/ref=sr_1_49?keywords=charlie+parker&qid=1573675987&s=books&sr=1-49

I recommend it. IIRC, the author concurs with some of your comments about the stand-alone quality of much of Bird's lines, owing to their voice-leading. It also features comments on certain techniques evident in some of Bird's solos that, had he not had things like drug-addiction/alcoholism, he might have developed and taken further.

Much of his compositional legacy is based on contrafactum, too...

[Joseph K]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_E7ph66kVw

Andreas Oberg and Martin Taylor play All the Things You Are.

[Ian Thumwood]

Do you know this book?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlie-Parker-Music-Michigan-American/dp/0472085557/ref=sr_1_49?keywords=charlie+parker&qid=1573675987&s=books&sr=1-49

I recommend it. IIRC, the author concurs with some of your comments about the stand-alone quality of much of Bird's lines, owing to their voice-leading. It also features comments on certain techniques evident in some of Bird's solos that, had he not had things like drug-addiction/alcoholism, he might have developed and taken further.

Much of his compositional legacy is based on contrafactum, too...

I have the Gary Giddens book on Charlie Parker but am not familiar with the one you mention. For me, it is the musical aspect of Parker than is interesting. As you say, the "compositions" were based on tunes like "Honeysuckle Rose", "Lady be good" , "I got rhythm", etc and he sometimes mixes the A sections of some tunes with the B sections of others. It is pretty clear that the "compositions" were worked out by improvising and some of the lines are incredible. This is one of the themes of his I have found really appealing but there are others like "Cheryl" (a blues) which fascinates.