Approaching Standards
Monday May 9th, 2011 with Bill Krause
Bird Songs Part 1

Together with Ellington, Armstrong, Miles and Trane, Charlie Parker is considered one of the giants of jazz. Nicknamed “Yardbird”, and later just “Bird”, he contributed a vast rhythmic vocabulary to the modern jazz solo. His tonal and harmonic approach gave soloists more freedom in structuring their music. His unique style of phrasing and approach formed the basis of the bebop movement. He was known for playing original melodies over pre-existing jazz forms and standards, a practice still common in jazz today. He died in March 1955 at the age of 34 – a life cut short by many years of heroine drug abuse. He became an icon for the “beat generation”, symbolizing the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, not an entertainer. Today we’ll feature the first in a two part series on modern interpretations of Charlie Parker's music – Bird Songs.