Charlie Parker: Communion?

[medjuck]

I was listening to  "Cecil Payne Performing Charlie Parker"  from the Charlie Parker Records box set   which consists of fairly familiar Parker tunes except one called "Communion"  which is credited to C.Parker.  It sounded  like post bop or hard bop to me so I thought maybe it was from Bird's last couple of years.  But checking the very reliable P. Losin  Bird discography I could find no such composition amongst Bird's extant live or studio recordings.  Anyone here know anything about this song? 

BTW  The record is really good. I thinking  I've been taking Clark Terry   too much for granted:  he was just always there for most of my jazz listening life. 

And 2nd BTW: in the Losin discography I noticed that there's only one live recording of Bird playing The Hymn. 

[JSngry]

It's not a Bird tune:

[EKE BBB]

Co-composed with Calvin Williams, according to GEMA.

https://online.gema.de/werke/search.faces

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by EKE BBB

[medjuck]

2 hours ago, EKE BBB said:

Co-composed with Calvin Williams, according to GEMA.

https://online.gema.de/werke/search.faces

 

 

Wow. I never knew about this website.  Thanks.  What does GEMA stand for? 

[JSngry]

Ok, who is/was Calvin Williams, an how does he show up as co-composer w/Cecil Payne on GEMA, but not on the original record?

GEMA is basically the German equivalenmt of ASCAP or BMI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEMA_(German_organization)

Here's what BMI has:http://repertoire.bmi.com/ListView.aspx?torow=25&fromrow=1&page=1

COMMUNION

BMI Work # 236032

Total Controlled by BMI: 75%

SONGWRITER/COMPOSER	CURRENT AFFILIATION	CAE/IPI #
PAYNE CECIL	BMI	40740218
WILLIAMS CALVIN	NA	0
PUBLISHERS	CURRENT AFFILIATION	CAE/IPI #
CHARLIE PARKER MUSIC CO	BMI	200606429
DREAM CITY MUSIC	BMI	37018895

Going further down this rabbit hole leads me do suspect that Calvin Williams got added on at some later day as part of some Aubrey Mayhew mayhem. Information to the contrary would be great!

 

[Shrdlu]

They were obviously thinking of "Confirmation".

[Lazaro Vega]

It's kind of a "Watusi" tune on the head, but then goes straight ahead for the solos. Credited to Bird on the AudioFidelity/Charlie Parker Recods lp re-issue, so thanks for the info.

[Gheorghe]

I never heard about it. I think that label Charlie Parker records had ended before I began to buy records. 
But it always happens that here or there pieces ar atributed to masters who have died long before. 

The only traces of Cecil Payne playing Bird tunes I have is on a record from the 70´s which I bought since it has my favourites Buster Williams and Al Foster, can´t be wrong anything with them two on a record. 
And I think he is on a Bird celebration gathering led by Jackie McLean, I don´t know what year it was, but it´s something my wife found for me as a surprise, when she read that it´s something with musicians she had heard of thru me ......

The last time I saw Cecil Payne on stage was quite a sad thing, he was blind and very very frail looking. But the young red haired saxophonist (I think it was Eric Alexander) who led him on stage was a great help, and what can go wrong if Ron Carter is on bass, he was on bass on that date I think in the early 2000´s .....but they didn´t play Bird tunes, more Cecil Payne compositions like "Flyin´ Fish" and so , very fine indeed, the only Bird related thing was a version of "Lover Man", but it was hard to listen to Mr. Cecil Payne on this, since the lack of breath was more evident at the ballad....., but they did all they could to cover it and help him, very very sympathetic guys on stage......

[Lazaro Vega]

Payne's attack as a member of Dizzy's big band was hard and he kept that as a signature of his approach -- like Pepper Adams or Nick Brignola and even Serge, he hit it hard.

Have yet to own or listen to his Zodiac Suite album.

The "Birdology" release your wife found for you was probably a concert recording of Bird's tunes and one original from a tribute given in France in 1989 with Jackie Mac, Johnny Griffin, Payne, Duke Jordan, Roy Carter, Roy Haynes and Don Sickler. Came out on CD in 2002 on Dreyfus.

[Gheorghe]

14 hours ago, Lazaro Vega said:

Have yet to own or listen to his Zodiac Suite album.
 

 

I have it on the Mosaic Strata East Recordings. But I bought that Mosaic almost exclusily for the Rhythm X which was a very rare record I liked when I was in my teens (since I was crazy about Ornette, Cherry and so on), but had it only on tape. 

The Zodiac with Cecil Payne is solid, but like other sessions from that set it´s somehow outwordly since it has musicians who sure had bitter years then, playing straight ahead or more in tradition based music when even Free Jazz slowly came to it´s end. 
The Brackeen-Don Cherry thing is nice and very similar to Ornette Coleman, but other sessions somehow have an air of death , it seems to be the last Kenny Dorham recordings, even 4 years after his splendid album series for BN had ended, same with Wyton Kelly who was in demand anymore like he was in the late 50´s and early sixties. 
Somehow those recordings depressed me. 
But I have heard Cecil Payne play that  composition "Flyin Fish " maybe 35 years later, if I remember right it is a cross between latin and swing......