Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins play together (with Ray Brown and Buddy Rich)

By Jack Brummet, Jazz Ed.

Two favorites performing together. . .with Ray Brown (whom I got to see just once; Bird died when I was two years old, and Hawkins died just a few years before I got into jazz).  Not quite so sure about Buddy Rich—I'm not a fan of his over the top drum attacks or his notorious treatment of young band members on the road.  Check out his rants here: http://youtu.be/omID1prJHFo).

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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. . .

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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).

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Jazz Superstars on film

This is a pretty cool video...starting off with Bird watching Coleman Hawkins play and then Coleman watching Bird play. This is followed by various other luminaries like Ray Brown, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, and Phil Harris dropping in and out, and ending with the whole band and Ella taking a couple of choruses to scat sing. I have to admit, also, that Phil Harris's trombone is spectacular...

Here is the rough rundown of who appears when and with whom:

Charlie Parker - Saxophone
Coleman Hawkins - Tenor saxophone
Hank Jones - Piano
Ray Brown - Double bass
Buddy Rich - Drums
Bill Harris - Trombone
Lester Young - Tenor saxophone
Harry Edison - Trumpet
Flip Phillips - Tenor saxophone
Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals, Scatting

The Lineup(s):

0:18 - Coleman Hawkins,
Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

2:53 - Charlie Parker,
Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

5:15 - Hank Jones,
Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

7:12 - Bill Harris, Lester Young,
Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

10:43 - Flip Philips, Harry Edison,
Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Harris, Lester Young,
Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

14:56 - The End
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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.