Bird At St. Nick's

Performer: Charlie Parker (Sax)
Artist: Red Rodney; Tommy Potter; Roy Haynes
Distributor: Fantasy

Notes: Personnel: Charlie Parker (alto saxophone); Red Rodney (trumpet); Al Haig (piano); Tommy Potter (bass); Roy Haynes (drums). Recorded at Saint Nicholas Arena, New York, New York on February 18, 1950. Originally released on Jazz Workshop (5000). Includes liner notes by Jimmy Knepper. Digitally remastered by Kirk Felton (1992, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Jazz Workshop Records do not apologize for the low fidelity recording here; we are happy that one of [Parker's] blowing nights remains for musical posterity." So say the original liner notes by trombonist Jimmy Knepper, a contemporary of Parker's when this quintet was recorded playing a dance at the St. Nicholas Arena in New York City in 1950. Indeed, hearing the incendiary altoist stretching out in front of a live audience under casual circumstances is worth putting up with the accompanying hiss, background chatter and the occasional "yeah!" that comes through. Parker blows through many of the staples of his repertoire, both standards he came to possess, like "Out of Nowhere" and "Embraceable You" and his own compositions (often built off the chord progressions to standards) such as "Ornithology," "Scrapple From The Apple" and "Hot House." There are no solo spots by the other musicians. The original tapes only included the moments when Parker was playing, and these fragments have been meticulously spliced together to create the generally successful illusion of whole tunes--though they feature nothing but Bird's head statements, solos, fours with his sidemen, and out-choruses.

Charlie Parker's combination of sheer genius and pure emotion on the saxophone has few rivals, and after him, nothing would be the same. As one of the creators of bebop in the 1940s and 1950s (alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and others), Parker, aka Bird, introduced a new level of expression to jazz, one that combined stunning technique, profound musical knowledge, and, above all, the ability to make complex ideas sound simple, soulful, and inevitable. Dead at just 34, Parker left behind a legacy that many have tried to equal, but none has surpassed.

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