Poem: Bird

By Jack Brummet

Carrying his dented horn in a paper sack, 

Pawned, lost, fifty times found and bought back,
He paid the price of a Stradivarius
To unhock his horn and blow for us.
           ---o0o---

Charlie Parker plays "Air Conditioning"

By Jack Brummet, Jazz Ed.

Air Conditioning is one of my very favorite Charlie Parker songs. I first heard it on a Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker LP, "Groovin' High," and it's been a top tune ever since. . .

 ---o0o---

Happy [posthumous] Birthday to Dizzy Gillespie

Happy [posthumous] Birthday to Dizzy Gillespie.  I was lucky to see Diz twice--once at the Village Gate on Bleecker St. and once at the Paramount in Seattle (on the tour where he introduced his young protege Wynton Marsalis to the world).  At the Gate, he performed some hilarious dance moves... (photo:  Bird, with Diz).

---o0o---

Old Film of Bird & Diz playing "Dexterity"

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie play Dexterity on film. Bird has been my favorite saxaphone player since I first heard him when I was about 19. He doesn't disappoint in this filmed snippet.