Lennie Tristano & Charlie Parker
If there was ever a musician who brought a new concept to the development of jazz, one should look toward pianist Lennie Tristano. In a recent New England Public Radio blog, Tom Reney recalls, with a Birds-eye view, the occasions when Charlie Parker jammed alongside Tristano and how the two had such a mutual musical affection toward each other.
-Michael Cuscuna
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On Bird: the Man and the Movie
Richard Williams, formerly of the London Times, is absolutely one of the smartest writers on music alive. Thankfully, he has created his own blog. If you don’t know Richard’s work, check out this essay on Clint Eastwood and Charlie Parker, and I think you’ll be hooked.
-Michael Cuscuna
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The Story of the Baroness and the Jazz Musicians
The legend of Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, or Nica, friend to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and other jazz luminaries, has loomed large over the history of modern jazz. Publication several years ago of the book Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats, under the Baroness’s name, amplified that legend. In a more recent biography just published in the United States, The Baroness: the Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild, Hannah Rothschild explores the life of her great-aunt; and in this CNN profile of the Baroness and the legend, Hannah Rothschild airs some of her findings about her fabled relative.
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Read MoreTommy Flanagan and Billy Taylor Play Bird
A piano duo performance of Ornithology by Tommy Flanagan and Billy Taylor, from Billy Taylor’s Piano Counterpoint. Uncannily seamless unison playing in the head bursts into vibrant solos, in the inimitable voices of each player. Thanks to Bret Primack for pointing to this clip.
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Dick Hyman: What Really Happened with Bird and Diz
Marc Myers once again brings a deserved spotlight to a jazz master. In this JazzWax interview, he speaks with Dick Hyman, who relates his musical experiences with Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Tony Scott and in particular, the famous television broadcast of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. This well known footage, with southpaw drummer Charlie Smith and bassist Sandy Block, has always been looked upon with racial overtones. Ever since I saw this clip some 30 years ago, I never thought there was ever any “bad blood” between columnist Earl Wilson and Bird or Dizzy, and it’s refreshing to see someone who not only was the pianist on this kinescope, but was the bandleader for this Dumont television rarity, set the record straight.
-Scott Wenzel
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Talking Jazz and Saxophone with Charles McPherson
This interview with the underrated and magnificent alto saxophonist Charles McPherson is made all the more fascinating because the interviewer is San Francisco reedman Mel Martin. As a failed saxophonist, I find their conversations of the performance and action and timbre of various saxophones to be as fascinating as their musical discourse.
-Michael Cuscuna
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Read MoreCharlie Parker
Well, there you have it. For your ears and eyes, a perfectly conceived, totally improvised solo on “All The Things You Are” by the maestro himself Charlie Parker.
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Tito Puente and Machito: Latin and Jazz Happily Co-exist
In this 1977 Down Beat profile, Tito Puente and Machito chime in on the debates on where the line should be drawn between Latin music and jazz. For Puente and Machito, those geographic considerations seemed to matter little. They seemed comfortable with where they stood on the landscape. So, we understand, did the many jazz players, including Charlie Parker, who played for them; and happily, so were those of us lucky enough to hear them in person. (Above: Machito and the Afro-Cubans, 1946)
-Nick Moy
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Read MoreWhat did Charlie Parker hear in the music of Claude Debussy?
Jazz players often bring up Claude Debussy’s music when they talk about their classical influences. Charlie Parker and Bill Evans were just two of the prominent jazz musicians who listened to Debussy. Check out this excerpt from Debussy’s String Quartet; see if you can hear where Bird and Evans were coming from. The Talich Quartet performs. (The video is amusing, too.)
-Nick Moy
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What was emyour/em first jazz record?
This is a great series from Jerry Jazz Musician — asking artists like Sheila Jordan, Phil Woods, David Fathead Newman etc. to comment on the first jazz record they ever bought.
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