Jazz Articles about Charlie Parker

About Charlie Parker

Album Review

Charlie Parker: Now's The Time

Read "Now's The Time" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
November 30, 2018

In the pantheon of jazz saxophonists, Charlie Parker has been among the most transformational of artists, despite not living nearly long enough to fulfill his potential. Parker's lifetime, as a principal architect of bebop, and a self-destructive force, has been documented ad nauseam but his music continues to significantly influence new generations. Since Parker's death in 1955, an unprecedented two-hundred albums of his music have been released, very few containing newly discovered material; it's a testament to his enduring legacy. ...

Album Review

Roland Dahinden: Talking with Charlie - An Imaginary Talk with Charlie Parker

Read "Talking with Charlie - An Imaginary Talk with Charlie Parker" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 15, 2018

There have been numerous Charlie Parker tributes over the years, which is to be expected, yet Swiss trombonist, composer Roland Dahinden is no stranger to thinking outside the box via his contemporary classical experience, performing pieces written for him by the likes of Anthony Braxton, John Cage and Daniel Wolf. He's also a jazz improviser and highly regarded 'idea man.' This album signifies the output of his compositions based on imaginary discussions with Parker, interpreted and executed by this multinational ...

Profile

Savoy Records: From Newark To The World

by Jordan Levy
February 6, 2018

On June 26, 1942, James Petrillo, President of the American Federation of Musicians, the nations union for working musicians did the unthinkable and announced a recording ban on all major labels. The ban was set in place due to perceived uneven compensation for musicians. The AFM ban on recording occurred at a critical time, as it was right in the middle of radio's Golden Age. Independent labels rose to the challenge of accommodating the now-stranded artists and fought ...

Book Review

Bop Apocalypse: Jazz, Race, the Beats, and Drugs by Martin Torgoff

by S.G Provizer
April 29, 2017

Bop Apocalypse: Jazz, Race, the Beats, and Drugs Martin Torgoff 448 pages ISBN: 0306824752 Da Capo Press 2017 The vilification and suppression of marijuana and narcotics in the U.S. was fueled in the 20th century by a campaign that whipped up fear of “the other"—Mexicans, Caribbean islanders, South Americans and African-Americans. Bop Apocalypse limns the history of this campaign and uses it to frame the story of how our own American “others"—(black and ...

Book Review

Godfather of the Music Business: Morris Levy by Richard Carlin

by C. Michael Bailey
July 24, 2016

Godfather of the Music Business: Morris Levy Richard Carlin 294 Pages ISBN: # 978-1496805706 University Press of Mississippi 2016 Well, I don't suppose it is an understatement to say that club owner and mid-20th Century music entrepreneur Morris Levi was a Son-of-a-bitch. That has been very well documented before Richard Carlin's in depth and informative biography, Godfather of the Music Business: Morris Levy. What Carlin has done is bring together ...

Book Excerpts

The Royal Roost: Birthplace of Bop

by Richard Carlin
March 30, 2016

The story of the development of jazz in New York is tied to the story of a few seminal clubs and promoters who helped nurture the music. Just as new musical styles were developing during World War II that would lead to the birth of bebop, so was the jazz scene changing. The clubs that thrived on Fifty Second Street during the mid to late '30s were strictly segregated; black musicians could play at them but could not patronize them. ...

The Vinyl Post

Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 5, 2016

So it is no secret that the entertainment industry is floundering these days and that record companies are doing just about anything to snatch some bucks away from the pirates and casual listeners. Perhaps this is why vinyl has become such a hot commodity. Blue Note spent the past two years reissuing classic titles on black wax and word on the street is that Impulse will be doing the same shortly. There was a minor hint that Savoy Jazz, the ...