In Bird Lives! The High Life and Hard Times of Charlie “Yarbird” Parker author Ross Russell (the owner of Dial Records which recorded Parker in 1946) attempted to help Parker by setting up a publishing company to copyright his compositions. “.When recorded in 1946, its second bar is played over IVm-bVII7 but, if ‘Rosetta’ was the chord-sequence, the melody would contain a raised 9th and flatted 9th.” Some have speculated that “Yardbird Suite” was based on the Earl Hines composition “ Rosetta,” but Priestley refutes that notion in the notes to his book. In his book Charlie Parker: His Music and Life Carl Woideck says, “Although Parker generally tended to only write new melodies over preexisting forms, “Yardbird Suite” (its title is evidently a pun on the piece “ Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky Parker had heard part or all of the ballet score several years before) is a wholly original composition in both melody (A and B sections) and chord progression.” Several sources mention Parker’s fascination with classical composer Igor Stravinsky. Parker yelled out, “Back up! You hit a yardbird.” Parker jumped out of the car, collected the chicken, brought it into the Lincoln, and had it cooked for dinner that night. The pianist said that they were driving to a gig when his car hit a chicken. This later became shortened for general usage to ‘Bird,’ although Dizzy Gillespie, when reminiscing about Charlie even late in his life, still tended to refer to him as ‘Yard.’”Īn even better story about the nickname (and related by several sources) was told by McShann in a 1999 interview. As Brian Priestley explains in Chasin’ the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker, “Accounts of the actual origin differ, but all except Charlie himself seem agreed that the reference was to a chicken intended for the pot. The tune is named after Parker who acquired his nickname “Yardbird” while with the McShann band. He finally did record the composition, and it can be heard on his 1972 release, Man from Muskogee or the reissue of Hootie. McShann wanted to record “Yardbird Suite” in a 1940 session but the producers insisted on blues material. Parker had performed his 1940 composition during his tenure with Jay McShann’s Kansas City band which did not record it at the time. During the first session on November 28, 1946, they recorded “Yardbird Suite,” originally titled “What Price Love?” His septet included trumpeter Miles Davis, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson, pianist Dodo Marmarosa, bassist Vic McMillan, and drummer Roy Porter. “‘Yardbird Suite’ perhaps Parker’s most lyrical composition, and one for which he also wrote a lyric (he called the vocal version ‘What Price Love?’)”ĭuring a trip to Los Angeles to play at Billy Berg’s club on Sunset Strip, Charlie Parker made several recordings for Ross Russell’s Dial Records.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |