Every Film Clip of Charlie Parker, 9; For Bird's Birthday, The Most Complete Copy of "Hot House" Film!

Last time we looked at some details of the famous Bird and Diz “Hot House” TV performance, which was discovered by the late jazz film collector David Chertok. And we learned that, sadly, every copy online has some very bad and distracting splices.

But today, in honor of Bird’s birthday (August 29, 1920) you will see a nice copy with no splices. I will add to that two very short clips that provide additional material for the introduction and ending. So, we will watch the complete film in three pieces, but the bulk of it is in the uninterrupted middle section. First, the introduction has never been online—all copies are missing just a few words. This version comes to us from the current owner of the Chertok collection, film historian Mark Cantor. However, even this best copy starts in the middle of a sentence by the host, Earl Wilson:

Now, as you saw last time, all of the copies of the film that are circulating have bad splices in them. But one that was for sale in Japan in the early 1980s was in perfect condition. Apparently, it was dubbed before there were any breaks in the film. It’s a bit dark but I’m sure that is correctable. However it is missing the little bit of talking that you just saw. So let’s continue and watch the entire clip from that point. (Please ignore the words and the year 1951 flashed on screen at the beginning. As I explained last time, the awards for 1951 were given out on this show in February 1952.) Apparently, before the kinescope begins, Wilson has already told the audience that they will be giving out some awards. A bit later, he refers to his role here as “the toastmaster, sort of the Georgie Jessel of jazz.” That’s because Jessel, a popular comic actor and entertainer, was known jokingly as “the toastmaster general (of the United States).” Bird and Diz are accompanied by Dick Hyman (piano), Sandy Block (bass), and Charlie Smith (drums—he was left-handed, so he reversed his drums). I gave you some info about them last time. OK, here goes:

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a treat to see this clip complete. But even this unspliced version is missing a second or two at the end. Let’s watch the ending now. This is the only place where you can hear Wilson say “Thank you, Charlie,” and it fades out while he is in the middle of saying “Thank you, Charlie and thank...” This little ending clip is again courtesy of our friend, the jazz film historian Mark Cantor:

If you watch all three of the above clips in order, you get the best and most complete copy of this historically important film.

It is interesting to see how Gillespie takes charge. He was used to leading his own groups, and he is in command here, even though this is a one-time performance, not a working group. While trading fours with the drummer, Dizzy is looking offstage, and apparently he gets a sign, probably from the director, that their time is up. (Possibly the talking at the start took longer than when they had timed it in rehearsal.) He looks unconcerned, and continues to nod his head to the music, probably because he knows that they’re almost finished anyway. During the first A section of the closing theme, he moves his trumpet toward the person who is giving the sign to finish up, so that the other band members will look in that direction. Then he moves his trumpet in an exaggerated gesture towards Parker to hold out the last note, meaning, "We’ve only played 8 bars of the 32-bar theme, but we need to end here." Amazingly, not only Bird but the rhythm section all understand Dizzy’s gesture, and they all end together.

Chan Parker, Bird’s common-law wife when he died, created a suspicion of racism surrounding the "Hot House" clip that has been accepted by most fans and writers. But that is false. This is a long and complicated topic, so we’ll cover it next time.

All the best,
Lewis