Charlie Parker And All His Bands And Friends And Various Combinations And Permutations

Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker

Diese onze is the name of a jazz club on rue St-Denis. That in itself is unremarkable. What is remarkable is that we were there on the weekend. My wife, she has her own reasons, and her reasons, of course, are my reasons, by proxy, sort of.

The band we heard was called Erik Hove Soundclash, it was their Lancement du CD, CD launching party, although it wasn’t much of a party, just another night in a bar with a $8.00 cover charge, blonde beer, and a waiter / bartender who didn’t know what “rye” is. So the music was good enough, more accessible than other stuff we’ve heard him play, the musicians are extraordinary, they always are in Hove’s bands.

But jazz, it would not be my first choice of shows. Live, I prefer classical I think, if truth be told, I have been to very few rock concerts in my life, surprisingly I guess, but jazz and I…

I don’t dislike jazz, I have plenty in my collection, and I enjoy listening to it. Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, the casual reader will be forgiven for noticing a preference for bop, but that doesn’t mean I get it.

I don’t, not really. I get rock, pop, MOR, classical even. But jazz is mostly a mystery to me, I can’t place it, it’s a blur, some of it (Lionel Hampton?) seems too tame, some of it (Ornette Coleman) is purely cerebral.

This here is Charlie Parker. It’s an anthology of his life’s work. I picked it up at the WK Library.

Parker was called “Bird” and I saw the film of his life, which was also called “Bird,” what a coincidence. He was a pioneer, so I’m told, and I believe it, but that’s where my limitations kick in, it doesn’t sound pioneering to me, not in the way that, say, Beethoven or Richard Strauss or Arnold Schoenberg are pioneers, or that Johann Strauss isn’t, or that Chuck Berry is, or that Chubby Checker isn’t.

So I think I need to spend some more time listening to jazz. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

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Dizzy Gillespie: Groovin' High Dizzy Gillespie Sextet: All The Things You Are Dizzy Atmosphere Dizzy Gillespie: Salt Peanuts Charlie Parker: Donna Lee Dizzy Gillespie: Shaw 'Nuff Hot House Charlie Parker's Ree Boppers: Now's The Time Charlie Parker's Re Bop Boys: Ko Ko Charlie Parker Septet: Moose The Mooche Ornithology Charlie Parker Quartet: Cool Blues Charlie Parker All Stars: Relayin' At Caparillo Chasing The Bird Charlie Parker Quintet: Dewey Square Charlie Parker: Bird Of Paradise Charlie Parker Quintet: The Hymn Charlie Parker: Embraceable You Charlie Parker With His Quintet And Strings: Klactoveedsedstene Scrapple From The Apple Charlie Parker Sextet: Out Of Nowhere Charlie Parker With His Quintet And Strings: Quasimodo Charlie Parker All Stars: Klaustance Parker's Mood Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: Bloomdido Star Eyes Charlie Parker With His Quintet And Strings: She Rote Charlie Parker And His Orchestra: My Little Suede Shoes Charlie Parker Quintet: Confirmation Charlie Parker And The All Stars: Blue 'N' Boogie 'Round Midnight Night In Tunisia Charlie Parker With His Quintet And Strings: Just Friends What Is This Thing Called Love? East Of The Sun Laura