Happy 100th Birthday Charlie Parker!

[David Ayers]

Still so much to celebrate!

[Hardbopjazz]

Bird Lives!

[Brad]

Jazz should be divided into two eras: BCP (Before Charlie Parker) and ACP. 

[Hardbopjazz]

20 minutes ago, Brad said:

Jazz should be divided into two eras: BCP (Before Charlie Parker) and ACP. 

True. 

[John L]

I forgot about Bird's birthday but still listened to a playlist with all the NY 1947 recordings on it.   What a never-ending delight!

[Justin V]

I'm listening to Bird and Diz now and the Town Hall recording is coming up later.  Here's to Bird!

Edited August 29, 2020 by Justin V

[Gheorghe]

I had a special idea today to celebrate Charlie Parker´s 100th Birthday !

 

I sat down at the piano and played a set of some of Bird´s compositions and tunes he used to play:

This was the set list, the tunes I played and soloed on:

Confirmation

Moose the Mooche

Yardbird Suite

Cool Blues

Wee

Round Midnight

Now is the time.

[Hardbopjazz]

Edited August 29, 2020 by Hardbopjazz

[T.D.]

The Independent (UK) has a Charlie Parker themed cryptic crossword today (8/29)

https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/#!202008

It's a difficult one.

[BillF]

2 hours ago, T.D. said:

The Independent (UK) has a Charlie Parker themed cryptic crossword today (8/29)

https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/#!202008

It's a difficult one.

No good at cryptic crosswords, but think 21 Across is DIAL.

[T.D.]

18 minutes ago, BillF said:

No good at cryptic crosswords, but think 21 Across is DIAL.

Yes!

 I think the puzzle's pretty well put together. Among other answers are CHARLIE, PARKER, YARD, BIRD, VERVE, ORNITHOLOGY, ALTO, BEBOP, RARA, AVIS, HEROIN and LIVER (ouch). And much of the cluing is Bird-related.

[Not overly worried about spoilers - only once before did I post a link to a puzzle on the forum, and that one got zero replies.  ]

I acquired a taste for British cryptic crosswords early in this millennium.

Edited August 29, 2020 by T.D.

[BillF]

Amazing to find Bird as a crossword theme.

I still find that most people have only the vaguest idea about who he was. 

Edited August 30, 2020 by BillF

[sgcim]

Even though Bad Benson said Bird killed jazz, in Benson's autobiography,

Happy Birthday Bird!

[BillF]

There have been claims of even earlier murderers of jazz than Bird. As a studious 17 year old in the 1950s I read Jazz by Rex Harris who claimed that by the time Ellington emerged in the 1920s what he was playing was no longer jazz. Harris was a New Orleans jazz purist whose ideas misled me for a while. It took Bird whom I discovered at the age of 18 to tell me Harris was wrong.

I recall that Sidewinder also came across Mr Harris' book - in his school library. 

[Chuck Nessa]

[sidewinder]

46 minutes ago, BillF said:

There have been claims of even earlier murderers of jazz than Bird. As a studious 17 year old in the 1950s I read Jazz by Rex Harris who claimed that by the time Ellington emerged in the 1920s what he was playing was no longer jazz. Harris was a New Orleans jazz purist whose ideas misled me for a while. It took Bird whom I discovered at the age of 18 to tell me Harris was wrong.

I recall that Sidewinder also came across Mr Harris' book - in his school library. 

Indeed I did. I was using it for a school project at the time (Music ‘O’ Level) and that was my main resource. 

I think it was graded an ‘A’. 

Edited August 29, 2020 by sidewinder

[Mark Stryker]

18 hours ago, sgcim said:

Even though Bad Benson said Bird killed jazz, in Benson's autobiography,

Happy Birthday Bird!

Not sure if SGCIM is being facetious or not, but for anyone who hasn't read Benson's autobiography, the passage being referred to does not say Bird killed jazz. Benson is actually making the point that while Bird's innovations did not sit well originally with everyone, ultimately Bird's genius allowed the music to grow in beautiful directions.

Benson recalls a post-concert conversation with an audience member, an older gentleman, who says about Bird: "They said he was going to destroy jazz."

Then George follows up with: "On the way back to the hotel, I thought about what the man said, what the man felt, what the man believed, and you know what? He was right. Charlie Parker improvised in a sophisticated manner that wasn't appreciated by every jazz ear at the time. He broke the mold, but he broke it in a way that  enabled those who study his work to put it together in a new, beautiful manner, with a whole new identity, an identity that brought us to where we are now. And I think we're in a pretty good place" 

[mjzee]

There were two different articles this week in WSJ celebrating Bird.

[sgcim]

6 hours ago, Mark Stryker said:

Not sure if SGCIM is being facetious or not, but for anyone who hasn't read Benson's autobiography, the passage being referred to does not say Bird killed jazz. Benson is actually making the point that while Bird's innovations did not sit well originally with everyone, ultimately Bird's genius allowed the music to grow in beautiful directions.

Benson recalls a post-concert conversation with an audience member, an older gentleman, who says about Bird: "They said he was going to destroy jazz."

Then George follows up with: "On the way back to the hotel, I thought about what the man said, what the man felt, what the man believed, and you know what? He was right. Charlie Parker improvised in a sophisticated manner that wasn't appreciated by every jazz ear at the time. He broke the mold, but he broke it in a way that  enabled those who study his work to put it together in a new, beautiful manner, with a whole new identity, an identity that brought us to where we are now. And I think we're in a pretty good place" 

Yeah, smooth jazz like Breezin'