This was Parker's first record as a leader - his first opportunity to step out front and state his own case for the high-speed melodic inventiveness and off-beat playing that characterized the new style called bebop. "And then bang - and there literally is a bang, Max Roach plays a bang - and it goes into Charlie Parker's solo," says Gary Giddins, author of Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker. It begins with the alto saxophone and trumpet playing in unison, followed by Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie trading eight-bar melodic phrases, then another quick unison bridge. One his early masterpieces was the tune "Ko Ko." The two-minute and 53-second record has a simple structure. The man people called "Bird" was a brilliant improviser on the alto saxophone and a pioneer of the post-war style known as bebop. On his birthday, we remember the jazz legend with a report that aired on Weekend Edition in August 2000.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |