Parkeology 003: Plucked From the Atmosphere Bird was the most receptive being. He got into his music all the sounds around him. –Gene Ramey The following excerpts demonstrate Bird’s ability to respond instantly to the sounds in his environment, both musical and ambient. They are presented in order of plausibility, from the serious to the spurious. You be the judge! We begin in Washington DC, on February 22nd, 1953, where Bird played a one-nighter fronting a local big band known as THE Orchestra. This gig is legendary because Bird went in cold, having declined the opportunity to rehearse, and played … Continue reading Parkeology 003: Plucked From the Atmosphere

Parkeology 002: Everything Goes Wrong His only real bad nights were when he overindulged – Earl Hines Every saxophone player knows from bitter experience that the G sharp key is inclined to stick closed, and must be pried open by hand. Here’s a recording of Ornithology from Christmas Eve, 1949. This is the opening number, and Bird realizes in the first bar that his G sharp key is stuck. There’s a slight pause as he pries it open, then he continues on to play flawlessly, this minor glitch forgotten. In his Bird biography, Chuck Haddix relates a story that must … Continue reading Parkeology 002: Everything Goes Wrong

Parkeology 001: Bird Is In the Details “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker.”  – Miles Davis Or, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing, six words: Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Parker. The Lester-to-Bird connection is plain to hear. The Louis-to-Lester connection is largely a matter of faith. The search for Lester’s influences is so futile that in the end you just throw up your hands and say: who wasn’t influenced by Louis Armstrong? A direct Louis-to-Bird connection might seem unlikely, but it turns out there’s a link via the West … Continue reading Parkeology 001: Bird Is In the Details

The Lester Young Band, 1941, Kelly’s Stables, NYC Is there any point in asking a question that can never be answered? The question in question is this: why did Lester Young’s style change suddenly and dramatically in 1942? It can never be answered because Lester never addressed it directly, leaving only hints, and few of those. Absent definitive answers, all I have to offer is the story of my attempts to understand this stylistic change. Whatever value this may have rests on the fact that I’ve been chewing over the evidence for a long, long time. *       … Continue reading Lester’s Dream

52 Essays on the Occasion of Charlie Parker’s Centennial Year The Weekly Postings by youdoernie (John Purcell) found on charlieparkercentennial.com are now available as a book on Amazon. Now’s the Time contains all 52 essays under one cover, beautifully illustrated with rare photographs, including pictures of Charlie Parker’s saxophones, letters, telegrams, contracts, handwritten notes, paintings, drawings, and more. There is much of interest to be found for Bird enthusiasts of every sort. Modestly priced at $9.99, it also makes a great gift. Continue reading Now’s the Time

Charlie Parker’s hundredth birthday has come and gone, and what have we learned? Various recordings were reissued, obligatory articles were written, and a graphic novel was published. But the standard narrative didn’t change. We were still told that Bird’s life was a tragic, chaotic waste that resulted, inexplicably, in supremely beautiful music. This narrative never sat well with me, and, in the course of writing these weekly essays, I became increasingly dismissive of it. Thanks to Bird’s many biographers, the basic facts are beyond dispute. It’s the interpretation that could stand more scrutiny. To deny the connection between the way Bird … Continue reading Introduction to the Weekly Postings

Weekly Posting, January 3rd, 2020 As a result of recent edits to this post, it has jumped to the top, but it was in fact the very first posting of 2020. As such, it was really a brief promotional blurb for the POSTunderground’s regular Friday night jazz events, devoted to Bird’s music in honor of his hundredth birthday. Many of the earliest posts were shorter promotional emails. I recently replaced two of them with new essays, then changed my mind. As of today, May 25th, 2021, I have added an extensive introduction to the weekly postings, which incorporates the two … Continue reading Weekly Posting, January 3rd, 2020

Today is the last day of Bird’s centennial year, and this posting is one day early, in case you want to ring in the new year with Bird’s 1949 New Year’s Morning broadcast from the Royal Roost in New York City. What better way to give Bird a final toast on his hundredth birthday? Thanks again to everyone who has enjoyed these fifty-two postings in Charlie Parker’s honor. This one, number fifty-three, is a something of a Postscript.  There was a simple algorithm to Charlie Parker’s life: he did whatever he felt like doing at any given moment, regardless of the consequences. Doing … Continue reading Weekly Posting, December 31st, 2020

On December 25th, 1948, Charlie Parker (Bird) performed at the Royal Roost, along with Kenny Dorham, trumpet, Al Haig, piano, Tommy Potter, bass, and Max Roach, drums. This Christmas Day radio broadcast was snatched from the airwaves by the indefatigable Boris Rose, a national treasure who recorded countless live jazz broadcasts from the comfort of his home. The recordings he captured from the Roost are among the finest live performances we have of Bird’s working quintet. Today’s offering consists of a single track: Bird’s one and only performance of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, which I feel conveys the Christmas spirit and hope you … Continue reading Weekly Posting December 25th, 2020

On December 15th, 1949, Charlie Parker (Bird) played at the opening of a new nightclub named in his honor. The program at Birdland that night was billed as “A Journey Through Jazz”, and Bird shared the stage with Lester Young (Prez) and Lennie Tristano, among other prominent players. The concert’s conceit was self-explanatory: Prez was there to represent swing, Bird to represent bop, and Lennie to represent the future. The club’s choice of name was an extraordinary acknowledgement of Bird’s status, at age twenty-nine, as the most influential musician of his generation. More extraordinary still, fewer than three years had passed … Continue reading Weekly Posting, December 18th, 2020