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Billie'sBounce

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Ornithology Track 6

Fast tempo with saxophone

Track7 Track I

Fast tempo backingtrack Slow tempo with saxophone

Track 9

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Yardbird Suite Track 10

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Track 11

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Track 12

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Track 17

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Track 20

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Track 21

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Anthropology Track22

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Track 23

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Track24 Track 25

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3

Blography ake a few narcotics,add in a pinch of alcohol,stir in some cultural tension fuelled by a new and dangerous musicl now add prohibition, a tragically shortened life and a musical gift as prodigious as it was revolutionary. Now you have the basic ingredients for the life srory of one of the greatest and most influential jazz musicians ever - charlie 'Bird' parker. He was born in Kansas ciry on 29th August r920,the only son of charles and Addie Parker. He started learning the baritone sax but found his rue instrument when his mother gave him an alto sax. Such was his infatuation with the instrumenr that at the age of 14 he dropped out of school completely to dedicate himself to it. He got the nickname 'yardbird' from his love of chicken. This inelegant sobriquet was subsequentlyshortenedto the altogether more appealing'Bird', and it stuck.

His first forays into the world of the professional jazz musician were

anything but successful,however. Kansas City musicians were very competitive (Herschel Evans and Ben Ïíebster both came from

Kansas)and if you couldn'tcut it, you wereout! on parker'sfirst time out, at the High Hat club, he dried up half way through a solo on Body And soul and didn't touch the instrumentfor

three months afterwards. A potentially more damaging later outing culminated in drummer Jo Jones throwing a cymbal at Parker as a subtle way of telling him to get off the stage! Rather than discouraging him this experience seemed to stiffen Bird,s resolve, as he simply practised more diligently and for longer hours than he had before.

He startedto getregularwork, first with Tommy Douglas(1936-7) and then with Bustersmith (1937-8).At this time he startedto

study harmony with pianist carrie powell, a move that laid the first brick in the impressive wall of his mastery of jazz improvisation.

In 1938 he joined the band oÍ JayMcShann, and startedto make a name for himself as a hard-swingingtaker-of-libertieswith iazz harmony. ln 7939 he made his first visit to New York, where he was greatlyinfluencedby the musicalstyle of the Big Apple. It was during his time with McShannthat he made his first recordings(in 1941,).These early r e c o r d i n g s( i n c l u d i n g S e p i a n B o u n c e , Jumpin' Blues and Lonely Boy Blues) brought him to the attentionof a wrderiazz public, and his reputationas a harmonic innovator beganto spread.

1

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During the Secondworld var he hookedup with Earl Hines (1942-3) and Billy Eckstine(1944) where he met Dízzy Gillespie,a prodigious young trumpeterwith a cutting soundand an attitude to match.

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rn 1,942 Bird moved to New York where, with a vafiety of musicians including Dízzy and drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, and with Thelonious Monk on piano, he helped pioneer bebop.

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By 1945 bebop had caught the narion's attention from its New York spiritual home, and Parker was by this time leading his own outfit. A 'síest Coast residency at Billy Berg's helped widen the appeal of his music. In 1.946he played at the LA Philharmonic, and in rhe same year he cut a number of landmark recordings for the Dial record label. During all this time Parker had been living up ro his 'rabble rouser' image, with a growing record of narcotic and alcohol abuse, which culminated in the famous 'Loverman session' incident in 1,946 when, after a recording session he was so desperate that he set light to his hotel room. A spell in the psychiatric wing of the LA county jail was the consequence of that affan, followed by six months rehab, which Bird ironically celebrated in the recording RELAXIN' AT CAMARILLO in 1947. \$7henhe returned to normal life he immediately set to work recording for Dial, this time with Erroll Garner. The appeal of New York proved irresistible and in t947 he returned to form a band with the hot young trumpet sensation Miles Davis and drummer Max Roach. It was with this band that Parker arguably hit his peak.

1949 saw Parker touring a foreign country for the first time when he playedthe Paris festival,following that with a trip to Scandinaviain 1950. In the same year, and in an attempt to reach a wider audience,he releasedan album of music with string orchestra,and the successoÍ

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Hislastpublicappearance wasin 1955at Birdland, theclub namedafter him, but it was not an auspiciousfinale. He rowed publicly with pianist Bud Powell, who srormed oÍf stage, q u i . k l y ' f o l l o * . d b y b a s s i s tC h a r l i e M i n g u s . D e p r e s s e d , disillusioned,his body wasted by diseaseand yearsof abuse,Bird sought solace with the great patron and friend of bebop, Baronessde Koenigswater. Eight days after that fateful gig he was found dead in her hotel suite.

Charlie Parker

5

Musical Style Parker's interests and influences \Mereas diverse and far-reaching as one could imagine - from the classical sophistication of Hindemith and Stravinsky to the primitive directnessof the Kansas City blues tradition, which Parker was immersed in from his upbringing and early professional e m ploy m ent w i th th e J a y M c S h a n n O rc h e stra, of w hi ch he w as a conscientiouslead alto player.

As an intelligentand deeplysensitiveman, he lived throughthe

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through to tragedyand despair- and it's all herein his playing. His conception of sound was based on that of the altoist Buster Smith, and the leading tenor saxophone player of the 'Pres' Young, whose comparatively vibrato-less day Lester sound was adopted by Bird on the alto saxophone. Parker saysof 'Pres', 'I was cÍazy about Lester,he played so clean and beautifullv'.

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Although Parker completely overhauled Lester's harmonic and rhythmic concepts, he had indeed transcribed and memorised much of the tenor star's recorded output with the Count Basie Band, and as the formative bebop drummer Kenny Clarke relates: ''W'ewent to listen to Bird 'Pres', until at Monroe's, for no other reason except that he sounded like we found out that he had something of his own to oÍf.er,something new'.

Leonard Feather.

That 'something new' was a melodic appreciation of the upper extensions of conventional chord progressionsand cadenceswhich Bird had been practising at jam sessionswith the guitarist Biddy Fleet. As Parker himself explains: 'Well that night I was working over Cherokee, and as I did I found that by using the higher intervals of the chord as a melody line, and backing them with appropriately related changes,I could play the thing I'd been heari.rg- I came alive.' This explanation from the saxophonist is both clear and informative, but it fails t o do justi c e to th e d e p th o f h i s i n n ovati on, w hi ch i ncl uded chromaticisation of melody and harmonic introduction of passing chords, chord substitution, displacement of the harmonic metre and, on occasion, extensive reharmonisation. W'hen you combine this with an awe-inspiring rhythmic approach, containing complete freedom of accentuation and articulation, you have the musical personalirywho went on to revolutionise concepts of small group playing on every instrument. \íhile not wishing to devalue Parker's greatnessor individual achievement, he was part of an extraordinarily fertile musical environment amongst an expanding circle of young musicians, whose daring and musical exploration were leading them down similar roads of enquiry. The nightly fam sessionsat Minton's Playhouse in New York provided the focal point for this group, which included Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke amongst others. It was at such venues that the small group, consisting of two or three frontline and rhythm section, began to asseÍt its ascendancyover the larger ensemblesof the swing era as the preferred working environment for the serious improviser. Photo:WilliamGottlieb

6

Charlie Parker

Here is a guíde to suggested iistening far each of the pieces ln this book: , : i ! i , a :i : : l u i i : i : , l : :i : , i

Billie's Ëóunóê' - 26/11/45, New York City * The Charlie DarkerRe-boppers - The Complete Savoy Sessions *Íth Miles Davis (tpt), $adik HakÍm (pno), Gurly Russell (bass), Max Roach {drums) Savoy/Arista 5850-1 OmithologY' * 24/1U49 * Camegie Hall, New York City - with Hed Ëiodney {tpt), Al Haig (pno), Tommy Potter bass), Roy Haynes (drums),S.C.A.M.JPGï ,,r*i!.,,1i,: ,ii:.

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ïardbird Suite' - 2813/46- witfi Miles Davis (tpt), l-ucky'Thompson (tenor sax), Arv Ganison {gtr), Dodo r'farmorosa {pno},Viv McMillan (bass),Roy Porter .ms) - released on 'Bird Symbols' - Atlantic Music l"crPoration 407 ,,,, , ïow's the ïme' *24112149 -CarËËiiie Hatl, New York CÍty - wÍth Red Rodney {tpt}, Al Haig {pno), Tommy Uter {bass},Roy Haynes {drums) S.C.A.M.JPGÍ tonna Lee' * 8/5i47 * The C*ertie FarRerAll Stars - The - nplete Savoy Seseions - with Miles Davis {tpt}, Bud , rtrell (pno),Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums) :"roy/Arista3420-2 ,

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Bird's style is the culmination of the musical developments of the experiments of the early 1,940s,taking in the harmonic knowledge of the great pianist Art Tatum and giants of the saxophone such as Don Byas and Coleman Hawkins, all delivered with incredible virtuosity and the raw passion of the blues. '!' INotes Performance rv'L\'\' Billie's Bounce This is one of two blues compositions in this selection and is an ideal starting point for any saxophone player who wants to get to grips with Parker's sryle. This is a comparatively short solo (seeif you can memorise it) and shows how Bird was able to tailor his playing to the demands of any situation. Ornithology The theme of Omithology was originally a phrase Parker improvised on Jay McShann's The Jumping Blues, which Benny Harris crafted over the chord progression of the standard How High The Moon, a common variant of the 32-bar song format ABAC (4 x 8-bar phrases). This 'Carnegie Hall' performance bears all of Parker's trademarks - for example, fantastic singing sound, time feeling, varied articulation and an indefiable senseof structure allied to form. Yardbird Suite 'Yardbird' was one of Charlie Parker's nicknames, derived from his liking for fried chicken. This composition, with its rigorous functional harmony and modulation to the key of III minor in the bridge, records the saxophonist's agility and succinctnessof phrasing over chord changesand his understanding and mastery of the 32-bar song form. Now's The Time Jay McShann (one of Parker's first musical employers) considered his protégé to be the greatest of blues players, and while such comparative terms are ultimately meaninglessin any discussionof the human spirit, we can perhaps forgive McShann for getting carried away in this case. This performance of the blues, over six majestically constructed choruses, illustrates Parker's depth of connection to and understanding of this most archetypal of forms. Donna Lee A l though credi ted to P arker, there i s a strong suspi ci on am ongst musicians that this 'line' over the chord progression of Indiana, was actually penned by the young trumpeter Miles Davis, who spent much of his formative period as the saxophonist's sideman. If this is indeed the case, then the tune is a classic example of how Parker's vocabulary was identified and applied by his contemporaries. Anthropology This is a daring virnrosic performance at 'break-neck' tempo of a Parker 'line' over the chord progression I of Got Rhythm (which musicians now refer to as 'rhythm' changes).These changeshave been a stalwart of many jazz players up to and including the present day. til7ith its rapidly moving harmony, albeit within tonic and subdominant key areas, and its cyclic middle eight (III? I I I I I I I l aVl? I I I I I I I I lrl1 | | I I I I I I lV? | I I I I I I I lll it remains a challengeto contemporary improvisers.

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It will help us enormouslyin our appraisal of Parker'splaying if we can gain insight into how his no choicesfunction within the melodic line. To illustrate this, we will examinethree extractsin the following terms: 1. Chord notes- the t,3, 5,7 of the chord 2. Passingnotes- a note or notesthat passbetweentwo chord notes 3. NeighÉournotes- the four noteswhich are a tone and semi-toneaboveand below a chord note.

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( This is bars 22 and 23 of the solo from Billie's Bounce. The Al in bar 23 is a chord note of D7 (the 5th) and is the destination target) of the notes in bar 22. The B, B! and Ab respectivelyconstitute the upper neighbour note, the chromatic upper neighbc note,andthechromaticlowerneighbournotestotheA|,andservetodrawtheeartotÍreresolutionontothe5thofth

In bar 23, the A (5th), Ff (3rd) and D (root) are obviously all chord notes of D7. The G passesbetweentwo chord notes,FÍ and and is thereforea passingnote. The B! in bar 22 is a neighbour note to óe A in bar 23. Iíhilst appreciatingóat the Bq is the 13th D7. it is also useful to realisethat 13ths derivemuch of their particular quality from their relationship with the 5th

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The aboveexampleis bars 32-33 (the solo break) from Omithology. The Bf itt bar 33 is the 5th of E major and is the target for I 'prepare' and lead the ear to it. Again, whilst appreciatingtÏat the Cf is the bt of Bt, óe main questionto asl A, Ci and Bbwhich how doesthe note Íunctionin termsof the melodicphrase? .Ihe

Gh in bar 33 is the lower chromatic neighbour note to the G* (the 3rd of E major). Notice that the Df and Ff (the 7th and I of E maior) are lower and upper neighbour notes to tlre root of E. The 7th and 9th of chords derive their particular qualrty ftr their relationshipwith the root, and in the caseof the 9th the 3rd also. The descendingDd and Cf - which passbetweenE and B (chord notes)- are, in this system'passingnotes.You will notice that samenote can havemore than one melodic function, dependingon what precedesand follows it.

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L dreaboveexample(bars11G117 of Anthropologyl,theCÍ and Bb in bar 116 are both neighbournotesto the sth ofET (Bl). The ,a-ond Cl still functions as a neighbour note to BIr although the Bí is not soundedagain until the beginning of the next bar. An T::portant point about neighbour notes is that they dont haue to be resolvedand, altematively, the resolution can be delayed,as ue. Note that when the Bc (the destinationof the descendingphrasein bar 116) is played at the beginningof bar 117, it is now the -::: of A' insteadoÍ the 5th of 47. in bar 116 is a chromatic passingnote, coming as it doesbetweentwo chord notes- the root and the 7th oÍ E7:E and D. .r-..rvereiteratelater in the book, Parker accesses this kind of detail and beautyintuitively. That is to say,he wasn't thinking in these ::ns during performance,he was hearing it, Evenwith this brief introduction" it is helpful for us to think about phrasing in óe way r--:: the ear hears it - in terms of tension and releaserather than attempting to justify Parker's chromatic choicesin relation to :- :d/scaletheory. That is not to saythat tÍris approachreplaceschord/scaletheory, rather it complemene it. For óe musicianwho r:ries to explore this further, a study of Schenkeriananalysisis recommended. =lation to the solos describedin this book, this approach will help to shedlight on why certain things sound so good and, most :ously,to understandParker'suseof chromaticism.

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ThéSolo Billie's Bounce Iíithin the three choruses,the ideas unfold naturally and in balance with each other. The beginning of the second chorus expands the opening phrase of the first in much the same way as people mull over and return to themes in a conversation.

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In eachof theseexamplesthe phrasereturnson a different rhythmic placementof the bar. Also seebars 33 and 34 which re-inventthe ascendingquaver triplet phrasefrom bars 26 and 27, and bar 42 which is reinforcedby bar 45.

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This repetition and, importantly, d e v e l o p m e n to f m a t e r i a l r a i s e sa n enormouslyvaluablemusicalissuefor us as improvisers

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necessarilyhow many ideas you come up with, but how you work with and expand the ideas you do have and in how many different ways and contexts you can apply them.

Harmonically, we have the usual selection of bounties that Parker regularly servesup - so we have unadulterated blues playing in bar 2l and bars 41-46, in combination with gems of phrasing (bars 24 and 36) which simultaneously d e s c r i b e t h e c a d e n c ep o i n t s a n d w h i c h a r e i n d i v i d u a l melodic statementsin their own right.

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bar 19. The accentuation of the 7th of the D7 chord, prepares the move to the subdominant - a favourite melodic traít of Parker. The subtlety of the man is evident in the way he usesthe tonic (D), initially to bring his first chorus to a conclusion and then to launch the beginning of the next, re-iterating the truth that clarity and simplicity i

are usually indicative of the greatestintelligence' musical or otherwise.

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It is an interesting exercise to sing the melody of How High The Moon over Bird's solo here, becauseit becomesapparent that far from obscuring the melody the solo actually functions as an elaboratecounterpoint. One of the reasonsParker'smusic communicatesso directly is the completenessof his melodic statementswhich he expertly frames with space,allowing himself and the music to breathe (bars 36 and 40). Alternativelg he may follow a seemingly fully self-contained idea with a complementary andlor satirical afterthought, such as that which appears in bar 44 (as in all g r e a t a r t t h e r e i s a n i n - b u i l t s e n s eo f p r o p o r t i o n a n d

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This became a favourite harmonic device of the bebop generation players such as Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Dorham and so on. Bars 64 and,65 areinreresting for their use of the 87* chord and the way Bird decoratesthe ensuingline of the 9-(b13)-(9).

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Bar 65 is also interesting for irs use of the melodic qualiry of the unresolved major 7th. Bars 74 - 78 utilise a three-note groupinghnterval structure of a semitonethen a tritone.

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The main rhythmic constituent of Parker's solo "(ánd the melody) is the quaver or eighth note, so we must be able to deliver the phrasesin a way that ignites the rhythmic vitaliry of the solo. Parker achieves this through the quality of support he maintains for the air stream at àll timesi which a l l o w s h i m t o a c c e n t ,a n d i n v e r s e l yt o ' g h o s t ' ( o r d e emphasise)certain parcs of phrases. In bar 6 of the melody the F! is accentedto enhancethe syncopation of its rhythmic placement in the bar (notice R"y Haynes' bass drum push here in conjunction with this) and the Dh and gb in bar 8 are both subtly inflected to give them more emphasis. Throughout the solo be aware of how you attack and end n'ótes, and where you accent within phrases. This will help bring the music alive for you. (Farker's languageis as much a

A good #áy.i.ot $fáctisi"g':this approaclt 1r

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you're working on at a slower tempo and play it through without tonguing so that you're relying on the air-stream alone for the projection of each note. The next step is to experiment with accents i firstly using the sfi$port from thê abdomen and secondlyby introducing the tongue. Once you can make all the notes speak with an even qualiry of sound

20

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TheSólo YardbirdSuite This is a miniature masterpieceof construction over just one chorus, and demonstratesthe intuitive compositional mind of a great improviser. It is no coincidence that the first two statementsof the solo are exactly the same length - 3 y, beats- with identical rhvthmic stress.

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The first four bars of this solo demonstratethe kind of detailand balanceParkerïvascapableof manipulating'off the cuff'. The noteswritten in ExampleL are the key points o f t h e p h r a s e( b a r s 3 6 - 4 0 ) w h i c h t h e e a Í i s l e d t o melodically.Incidentallythe tune of 'Yardbird' establishes both of the top line here,but in the solo Parkerembellishes theselines simultaneouslSas well as a hint at the root movementin bar 38 - via the A on the last quaver of bar 37 andin bar 39 - melodicexploitationof the line #9 -b9 'líhen we arrive at bar 40, the logical continuationof Sth.

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the unresolved9th. This all soundsincredibly academic,

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In bars 42 and 43 Parker went on to use this phraseas a 'riff' bluesheadentitledCool Blues.

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In the bridge of this solo bar 5 6 transposesthe contour of the phrase at

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bar 52 down a tone from Cfi minor to B minor.

'gesture'of Bar 57. Subtly,Bird Bar 58 reinforcesthe waits to resolvethe Afi in bar 57 until bar 59. Theseexamplesshow Parker making a mockery of the difficulties containedin the chord progressionand they resultin a highly organisedcompositionalstatementover 32 bars. Instrumentallyspeaking,Parker'splaying here usestraces of vibrato in the sound in what, for him, is quite an unusual way. As a saxophonisthe was one of the first, after his original model LesterYoung, to curtail the use of vibrato and to useit more discerningly,in a very vocal w a y . I n t h i s s o l o t h e d e l i c a c ya n d f i n e s s eo f P a r k e r ' s perfectlythe invincibility of his sound counter-balances musicalthought process

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vocally improvising i8uttd the line and theni"iépeatthe whole procedurewith the saxophone.This can be a lot of and inside the yhrasing lelt"::t ions of Parker'ssolo You can pràèiisethis

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approach as an improvisationalresourcein $y"':bontext ' ', you choose. ,

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This is an audacious offering from the saxophone player, containing some of his most celebrated and oft-quoted vocabulary (see bars 26-30, bars 34 and 35, and bars 54-56. Throughout, the performance is littered with the most poignant of blues proclamations which remarkably transform relatively simple musical resourcesinto the most strident and meaningful of deliveries (for example bars 37 and 38). This is achieved through an incredible understanding and respect for the tradition that gave rise to this music, backed up by virtuosic instrumental command of articulation and inflection. Over the six chorusesthere is an identifiable pattern to the organisation of material which is self-evident,that is, while the harmony remains more static (for example, in bars L-6 of each chorus on the tonic and sub-dominant chords), the phrasing is more vocal and drawn out.

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Bird saveshis more explosivedouble-timepassages for bars 7-12 of eachchorus,wherewe havethe bebopgeneration's harmonic adaptationsto the blues for which Parker \Mas very much responsible.For example,from bar 7 of the chorus:

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H e r e t h e p h r a s i n gi s more descriptiveof the shifting harmony.

Before we leave this solo, bar 52 is interesting becauseBird intimates at the tritone substituteof D7 which is Ab7.

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UnusuallS however,he does this in bar 3 of the chorus. This is interestingbecauseit was more conventional,and still is, to insert the tritone substitutionin bar 4 of the

Now's The Time

31

- G7. Bars 63 and 64 are interesting blues,in this case Ab7 'With thrbl( becauseBird implies the harmony of Eb7. chord functioningas the tritone dominant of D7 (that is, the tritone substituteof the dominantof D7- A7), .: ; :

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t h e s ea r e h a r m o n i c p r i n c i p l e st h a t h a v e s u b s e q u e n t l y becomemajor roads of inquiry for many of the playersat the forefront of the music.

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TheSolo Donna.Lee Parker'ssolo containsmuch of the harmonicinformation and contour from the actual melody,material which has been assimilatedby the tradition becauseof its enduringmelodic strengthand harmoniclogic. A detailedstudy of the melody would be beneficialin itself,however,let us concernourselves

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here with the Parker solo which containsall of the musical ideasand principleswithin the original line - and more. One of the defining aspectsof Bird's sryleas opposedto his predecessors who influencedhim (for example,Lester in his Young), was his use of the added notes/extensions arpeggiationof the harmony. So for example,as we have alreadyseenelsewhere, he arpeggiates the V7(b9)chordsfrom the 3rd of the v7(b9) chord (superimposing a resulting 7th shape)in bars34,39,50, 55, 58,66,76,82 diminished and 90. Likewise,he arpeggiates the G9 from the 3rd to the natural 9 (superimposing the notesB D F A - Bm7(bs)- over G7;. See bars 35, 67 (where Bird paraphrasesthe melody at the beginningof the secondchorus),77 and 83. Notice that although the material in theseexamplesis essentiallythe same,his rhythmic permutationand placementin the bar and endless. acrossthe bar line is seemingly It is here that we come acrossanother favourite deviceof Parker- alteringthe harmonicmetreof the chord progression so that the resolutionis either delayedor brought forward slightly.In bars 38 and 39 the underlyingharmony is C7-p. However,when we arriveat the F chord,Bird is still outlining theC7(b9)chord,thus delayingthe arrival of the tonic chord.

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\fhen he does finallv resolve to the tonic chord (bv. imp\icatïon with ttre Tï\ ïn bar 56.,the hatmony of the tune hasmovedto A7(b9)r wherethe Cm -F7 which we Anotherexampleis at bar 7"1, are moving to is brought forward by three beatsto expand the cadencefrom 17to lVmai (that is, (Cm) F7-Bb).

Finally thereis the phrasein bar 92, which is anticipatingthe harmonvin bar 93 (thetonic chord of F major).

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The effectof this harmonicdisplacementis exrremelysubtle. At the time Bird was doing this, many of the rhythm section p l a y e r sf e l t t h a t t h e y w e r e i n t h e w r o n g p a r t o f t h e progression. The concept of altering the harmonic merre has been exploited ever sinceBird, and understandingit will throw somelight on many contemporaryimprovisers,although stylisticallythey may be very different. Another of Parker'smannerismswas to chromatically'fill in' the spaceof a descending major 3rd interval- for example,in bar 37 betweenthe 9th and the 7th of G minor (A-F), and in bar 92 wherehe chromatrcally'fillsin' the major 3rd interval betweenE and C. Bar 79 is interestingbecauseof its arpeggiationof the minor chordthroughtheTth,gth and 11th.

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The phrasethen falls ro rhe Sth of C7(b9b13) ui" rhe accented bB of C7(b9b13). Thi, is a goodexampleof how parkercould decoratea guidetone line,in this casebg -b13 - 5. Thereis an echoof this ideainbar 94.

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Other hallmarks of Parker'sstyle include: outlining of the 11 1 h, \m 4Lard,'"hÊ.D/(! ) chrc"d.in lrar 44',,hr*' t! 1 ) chrorC, 'HoneysuckleRose'motif in bar 38; and the repetitionof the phraseat bars47, 59 and 87. T h r o u g h o u t t h e s o l o P a r k e r d e c o r a t e st h e l i n e w i t h chromaticneighbourand passingnotes.For example,at bar 94, the Db and Bh both targer the C in the following b a r a n d c a n b e t h o u g h t o f r e s p e c t i v e l ya s t h e u p p e r chromatic and lower chromatic neighbournotes to C. Of courseParkerdidn't think of this when he was performing' and we certainly don't need to. However,it is crucial to understand,either intuitively or cognitively(and preferably

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both), how notes function within a melodic line. For ''Síhat'sthe major 7th example,if we immediatelythink doing over a C7 chord at bar 94?', then we've missedthe

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Take some of the recurring material we've examined and |

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fingers,pr*ctisê improvisin$ using the shape i,,,md.t'.'your a n d t h e n s e ei f y o u c a n i n c o r p o r a t e i t i n y o u r o W n 1, ; improvisation.Another \Mayof working in this area is to a ,rtake a bàl' (for examplebar 56)'"fthefêBird.superimposes iili shapeover A7P9iL3) descending Gm7(b5) and resolvesir 'Íl i:i. n

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Out of context you can then practisethe cadence,and see,il ''i how many different,waysof playingthe Gm7(bs),hape ;." can come up #ith óu*. the A7(b9b13) chord, and how yo" ii : l

can phrase"and rê:sol$e(or not resolve)out:'of it. Only Oo :i ': ' i .ft +*J-;;

this with ideas and sounds you are attracted to. The i '

intention here is to take Bird's solo as a starting point *r,iiil

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our olvr, *rrri''"1 $I"bwth and exploration. It is fine t..Ï practise Parker'sphr:['sesand tra"'lposb them io all kef$1iiru ;jË,i 'f!8.

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but where it beginsto get exciting is when you start to . p r a c t i s ea n d a p p l y t h e m u s i c a lp r i n c i p l e sb e h i n d t h e , i phrases!

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41

ANTHROPOLOGY By CharlieParkerand Dízzy Gillespie

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concepts contained therein that have been retained and expanded upon ever since. For instance, bar 37 alludes to a possible tritone substitution Db7 fo, G7, moving to C7, and the last two beats of bar 82 whereFT(f,11)is implied, moving to E7 6z(il11) is the tritone substitute of B7 - the original harmony here). ï

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Another outstanding example of Bird's forward harmonic 'lf thinking is demonstrated by the material in the first rwo sectionsof the secondchorus, where he superimposesa string of V7(b9)chords, ultimately moving to chord IV7 . He realises this largely with connecting diminished 7th shapes that describethe implied V7(b9)-ou.ments.

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Then in bars 62 and 8 8 we have the insertion of a blI^uj7 chord resoiving to the tonic (that is, Ab9 goirrg to G). The major chord a semitone above the tonic, or chord we are -^"i--

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movmg to, functlons very much like a dominant.

Ex3

This is a principle he explores further in the B secion of the second chorus, where the stated B7 chord is approached with a c major idea. In bar 1,07 the insertion of gb minor crearesa successionof chromatically descendingmin or 7th chords, implying B minor - E7- Bb mino r - Eh7- Aminor - D7,or more

simply n7(w7)nb7bwrl o, (v7).

Ex4

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47

A similarideacan be found in bars 1,1,9and L20 wherethere is description,and thereforeimplication,of pb7$W7; rhifting to D7 N7). These harmonic devices,although radical for the time, were ideasthat Parker may have been inspired to explore from his 'Giant of the exposure to the great pianist Art Tatum and the 'Bean' Hawkins who were tenor saxophone' Coleman masters at embellishing and expanding upon the existing

harmonic content.They may also have reflectedhis interestand study of classicalmusic. Parker was highly musically aware'acrossthe board' (note his humourous referenceto Chopin'sA maior Polonaisern bars 124-1'26, and his quotationfrom AlphonsePicou'scelebratedclarinet obligato from High Society(bars 97-98). Indeed,Parker was a master of quotation and was able to incorporate the most banal of contemporary themes into his improvisations and produce moments of pathos andlor humour from the satire and social comment that ensued. In organisational terms, this solo contains much crossreferencing and development of ideas over the duration of three choruses.Thus the phrase in bars 78 and 79 is an echo of the opening phrase of the solo (the Cil at the end of the phrase may have been accessedby Parker's use of the side D 'high' D, without the fingering - the authentic fingering for octave k.y). Parker's stock vocabulary is well representedthroughout. It is imponant to realise that he uses much of this material as a writer uses punctuation, that is, his use of certain phrases is gÍ:rrnmatical and, as such, helps the overall structuring of lkas. For example, the classicphrase in bar 35 is repeatedan

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octavehigher to top off the extraordinaryfracured line of bars 36 to 40. lt appearsagain in bar 47 and there is a variation of it in bar 103. Bars 110-1l,L refer back ro bars 4647 , but noticehow Parkercomesin and out of this phrase differently.Likewise,bars 116-118 are a direct lifting of bars 84-86, but in eachcasethe line either side of this contains differentmaterial. It is important to rememberthe speedof this performance) and that anorher facetro rhe reperition of languageis that it allowsthe improviserro rhink ahead,buyinghim time. The bridge of the first chorus illusrrateshow parker could take one idea and developit for an extendedperiod. In this case,the semitoneinterval is the prevailingmusicalidea for bars 49-56. (An instrumentalnote here- you may want to p r a c t i s eb a r s 4 9 - 5 0 w i t h t h e l o n g B b a n d t h e s i d e c fingerings,alsousingthe Bis key Bband normal C fingering.)

Practice Tip

iIffi#ryËii#ffiË#t'Fêffi t*ir+tr+ 1p36's11;44*{1+i,t-&",sffi

Playingfast temposrequiresthe ability to sray physically relaxed.In terms of fingeiing, economyof movementand a comfortablehand position are vital. This can be facilitatedby increased control of the weakerfingers.For example,over a ' period of time you may find ir usefulro 'anchor' th* ,ight hand little finger óver the Ebkey and the lefr hand little finger " over the Gfi key. Pracrisingslowlg with the intenrion of "oË'f moving the fingers away from thesekeys and maintaining u.,;i relaxed hand position at all rimes, will begin to facilitrt*liil t' economy of movementand increasedco-ordination "rrd ' .:.,i':. accuracy.

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Anthropology

49

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