Wow, that's exhaustive, and a great bit of information Lewis. Mike Fitzgerald and I were at Rutgers at the same time, I remember him. Question, in these videos I'm reminded that Bird here is playing a King saxophone, either an early Super 20 model or the Zephyr. Coleman Hawkis is playing his Selmer Balanced Action. Do you know of any documentation that exists where Bird mentions his preference of the King over the Selmer saxes? Of course this is ancillary to both of their astounding artistry. I'm still blown away by all of the musicians in this video, more now than ever.
Hi Jeff, Yes, it's interesting that Parker didn't routinely play Selmer, as most pros have for years. (When I used to double on alto, I played the Selmer Mark VI model.) Then again, Cannonball Adderley played King, as I recall. It may be that Selmer was simply not yet considered the best until, say, the 60s? I don't think Bird ever mentioned it. But he did play Selmer a few times. Here is a discussion of what Bird played:
Goes to show you that bebop (II-V-I method ) is the best training to become a jazz player..not modes
Wow, that's exhaustive, and a great bit of information Lewis. Mike Fitzgerald and I were at Rutgers at the same time, I remember him. Question, in these videos I'm reminded that Bird here is playing a King saxophone, either an early Super 20 model or the Zephyr. Coleman Hawkis is playing his Selmer Balanced Action. Do you know of any documentation that exists where Bird mentions his preference of the King over the Selmer saxes? Of course this is ancillary to both of their astounding artistry. I'm still blown away by all of the musicians in this video, more now than ever.
Best, Jeff
Hi Jeff, Yes, it's interesting that Parker didn't routinely play Selmer, as most pros have for years. (When I used to double on alto, I played the Selmer Mark VI model.) Then again, Cannonball Adderley played King, as I recall. It may be that Selmer was simply not yet considered the best until, say, the 60s? I don't think Bird ever mentioned it. But he did play Selmer a few times. Here is a discussion of what Bird played:
https://www.saxontheweb.net/threads/did-charlie-parker-ever-play-a-selmer.73754/
And here is a photo of him on Selmer at the company's site:
https://www.selmer.fr/en/artist/charlie-parker
Thanks Jeff!
Thanks for this outstanding piece of the Bird-puzzle. Apropos "language": Since Bird was very interested in poetry, it's no wonder, that he knew many unusual words. He even could speak some German words. I have analyzed one of his most cryptic titles, known as Klact-Oveeseds-Tene (BTW, Peter Losin has listed the correct title, Klact-Oveereds-Tene: http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/BirdSessions.aspx?s=471104). Feel free to read my take: https://brewlitesjazztales.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/happy-95th-anniversary-charlie-bird-parker-%e2%88%bd-re-klact-oveeseds-tene/
Thank you Brewsk--good information!