Charlie Parker – Jazz Tracks

★★★

   Today is the anniversary of the birth of the great musician, one of most famous figures in history of jazz. After II world war jazz changed its character, from utilitarian, predominantly dance music, it changed after war into a part of existential lifestyle, fashion and clubbing in Paris. This was the moment jazz become fully autonomic part of musical culture with its own means of expression and deep semantics. Primary importance had Parker’s solutions in the way to improvisational freedom of modern jazz. He started the renewing jazz esthetics by turning to blues and breaking swing forms with emphatic, emotional changes in melodics and rhythm. In his improvisations he was as brilliant as original.
   Born August 29, 1920 in Kansas City, Charlie Parker was saxophonist who revolutionized modern jazz as improvised music, changing creative patterns, and has left imprint of his own creative personality in every theme he composed, every improvisation he recorded. He has set his own tracks, which became the basic tracks for next generations of jazz musicians. Charlie Parker lived only 35 years but his achievements are more important than of any other alto saxophonist in his generation. Early Parker recordings from the era of 78 rpm records were the subject of deep concern in next decades. These tracks were constantly republished in sixties and seventies in various settings and programs on LPs, later on CDs. One of such editions is the choice of top creative performances released in Jazz Tracks series by Bellaphon label (BJS 40174) in 1977.

Charlie Parker – Jazz Tracks (1977)

   Base for Bellaphon edition were 78 rpm recordings from 1947. Most of them are live recordings taken during four gigs of shorter than three months period of autumn 1947. Three songs (Bongo Beep, Klactoveedestene, Dewey Square) are recordings of Charlie Parker’s Quintet with Miles Davis (tp), Duke Jordan (p), Tommy Potter (b) and Max Roach (dr) and another four songs (Air Conditioning, Quasimodo, Craseology and Bird Feathers) were played by the same lineup plus J. J. Johnson (tb). These sessions were well recorded giving adequate image of what musicians intended to fit in three-minute recordings. It is interesting fact in these 7 recordings there’s only 12 seconds of difference between shortest (2’54”) and longest (3’06”).
   On the opening of second side are some recordings from Carnegie Hall concert September 29th, 1947. Parker played here with Dizzy Gillespie (tp), John Lewis (p), Al McKibbon (b) and Joe Harris (dr).  Two pieces A Night in Tunisia and Groovin’ High are roughly divided into two parts each. The technician did this in the way he has to. Having one recorder he just muted Parker’s solo in A Night in Tunisia (one of most inspired moments on this record), changed plate and started at the beginning of Gillespie’s solo. In Groovin’ High the same was done much better, during the bridge between Bird’s and Gillespie’s solos. The fate of other two was even worst. Parker’s Confirmation was brutally muted with no continuity, the same with Gillespie’s Dizzy Atmosphere cut just after trumpet solo. The last three tunes (The Song Is You, My Funny Valentine, Cool Blues) are outtakes from Carnegie Hall presentation September 25th, 1954. Parker was playing there in quartet with John Lewis (p), Percy Heath (b) and Kenny Clarke (dr).
   There are two major mistakes in the program of the album – opening piece is listed both on back cover and on label as Bird Feathers, while in fact the recorded tune is Bongo Beep. The same comes with No 6 listed as Bongo Bop which was Bird Feathers. Maybe somebody just switched these pieces, but in this case the one didn’t see the difference between Bongo Bop and Bongo Beep. And these are definitely two different themes, and both are beautiful, light and witty with original and unique Bird’s touch. Despite some editorial mistakes and faults, this record is still worth to remember. Jazz collectors were given here with 14 classical Bird recordings of unbelievably witty and light solos. Three stars for the whole album should be fair. 

Parker, Gillespie, Powell, Roach, Mingus – Jazz at Massey Hall

   Probably the best parts of Charlie Parker’s discography are recordings of his live performances. Between many of his phenomenal recordings some are really best pretenders to be considered “the greatest jazz concert ever”. One of them was really sold under this slogan. It was album published in 1953 called Jazz at Massey Hall. It is 4th album in catalogue of America Records (6053). It is recording of public concert which took place in Massey Hall Toronto on May 15, 1953. The lineup of this concert was a real all stars quintet consisted of best jazz musicians not only this time – Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charlie Mingus and Max Roach. This recording became immediate success. It was republished in many editions as a vol. 4 of Parker’s series under the Saga Eros label (ERO 8031), as Charlie Parker All Stars Jam under Jazz World label (JW 77007) and in many other editions.

   This was the highest moment for compliance of bebop. After the radio ban was ended in 1945, bebop became fast growing wave of new culture. It was much more than new style only. The post-war shock leading to a different perspective not only on society, economy, and politics but also in the music has made new attitude possible. What was hipster before the war, become intellectual and socially radical in early fifties. This was new space for avant-garde searching’s for new means of expression. What is important, this time there was no place for empty aesthetical gesture and artists were trying to create their own vision of human condition. Some of most radical musicians have seen their destiny in modern jazz, which was freeing this time from dance music. Charlie Parker and musicians playing in his All Stars were avant-garde of this trend.

Charlie Parker – Jazz at Massey Hall (1953)

   The interesting feature of this recording is Parker’s instrument. In Toronto he played on Grafton saxophone – plastic instrument patented in 1945 and produced through the fifties in London. In May 1953 Parker in radio broadcast explained he was looking for different sound. In fact he was bound by the contract not to play any other instrument during concerts in US, so performance in Toronto was challenging opportunity. And generally the instrument sounds very good, sometimes maybe it’s too dark, but this can be an intentional effect. Parker was not quite happy with it and sold this instrument in pawnshop. In 1994 it was bought in Christie’s auction for £ 93500 and now is in possession of American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, the hometown of Charlie Parker.
   Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie are soloists in long term artistic partnership. They complement each other in how they sounding, how they create solos and build emotional impact. This time there were no division on melodic instruments and rhythmic section, whole group was creating musical narratives. Since Perdido, where loosely constructed, full of invention solos played Parker, Gillespie and Bud Powell, Parker and Gillespie play with dialoguing half improvised sections. And this is exploding in quite modern way in Salt Peanuts. After Parker-Gillespie duo play, Powell plays solo and then Max Roach has his legendary drums solo. All the Things You Are is beautiful opposition to energetic program of this concert with beautiful solos and even improvising correspondence with soloing Mingus. Phrases in Parker’s solo can be seen as his revelation.
   Bud Powell and Max Roach played beautiful solos in Wee – both are hot and modern. The same one can say about first solo in Hot House played by Charlie Parker with strong emotional background. After this solo Dizzy Gillespie played more intellectually and with some distance – then Powell gave his show with virtuoso discipline, subsequenced with next perfect solo by Mingus. His double-bass solo in Hot House was quite rare this time. Last solos on this album are just revelation of something would happen in later years. Every one Parker, Gillespie and Powell played their solos like they were just opening for next decade, for hard-bop and free, for Coltrane and Coleman. Auditorium reactions for Powell’s solo show how this message was clear in 1954.

Charlie Parker – Live Performances

★★★

   Jazz is undoubtedly the musical symbol of 20th century. It is considered as an expression of collective self as much as movies and culture of mass production. Among many phenomenal jazz performers only few became legends of 20th century. Otherwise than in cinema, where visual image constitutes a product, in music value comes out of musical creativity but popularity is build in most cases on different kinds of narration. Most effective since romanticism were stories on premature death. Sometimes this kind of legend gives only short life but when it concerns composer like Mozart, Schubert, it is only pretext for real recognition of great personality. This is also the case of iconic modern jazz artist Charlie Parker. Known also under his nickname Bird (shortened form of Yardbird), Parker died before reaching 35 years of age.

   Even 57 years after Charlie Parker’s death his musical heritage is still considered as a turning point in the history of jazz. He was the one who fully expressed young generation’s point of view and broke bonds with swinging and dancing music of prewar orchestras. His improvisations were more freely, passing altering chords in virtuoso passages and fast tempos. His improvised choruses have clear intellectual distance and flexible, sometimes even abstract emotional significance. The typical band had changed. Modern jazz combos’ lineups were reduced to saxophone and trumpet, piano or guitar, bass and drums, sometimes with second saxophone or trombone. This gave totally new sound and much wider space for improvisation. And while theme has became to be only a starting point, improvisation was more and more important, becoming the central topic of every performance.

Charlie Parker’s – Live Performances (1978)

   The history of creating bebop style is in fact hard to trace. There are almost no recordings of early concertos in clubs. Some tracks remained only as radio recordings of live performances. These recordings were compiled on two Charlie Parker’s albums published by ESP label in 1972 as Live Performances and in 1973 as Broadcast Performances. These recordings have been published in various sets and selections. In 1978 Live Performances vol. 1 has been republished in Poland by Polskie Nagrania. First volume of Parkers radio broadcasting recordings has special feature. Opening A-Side Tiger Rag was recorded September 20th, 1947 by legendary Barry Ulanov’s All Stars Modern Jazz Musicians where Parker played together with his long time trumpet partner Dizzy Gillespie, clarinetist John La Porta, pianist Lennie Tristano, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Max Roach. 
   The main part of the album is the seven recordings of Charlie Parker All Stars from Royal Roost club in New York. Two sessions were taken December 11th and 25th, 1948 – first lineup with Miles Davis (Groovin’ High, Big Foot, Ornithology and Slow Boat to China) and second with Kenny Dorham (Half Nelson, White Christmas, Little Willie Leaps). The rest of musicians in both quintets were Charlie Parker, pianist Al Haig, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Max Roach. Program of second volume were live recordings of both lineups of Charlie Parker All Stars from Royal Roost from September 4th, 1948 and January 1st, 1949. Technical quality of this recordings sometimes can be little disappointing, especially when it is limiting the information about interpretations, phrasing, articulation. But this is still a chance for getting to know the real beginnings of modern jazz.