John Beasley, Magnus Lindgren, SWR Big Band: Bird Lives

Round about 2017 there was a meeting of the minds. Composers and musicians John Beasley and Magnus Lindgren evolved as kindred spirits, and chose to work together on a project engulfing their shared appreciation of Charlie Parker. This tribute to the man who came to be known simply as Bird, had trouble taking flight. Obstacles, none bigger than Covid, came along and stood in the way. Dedicated to its completion, the pair, along with the SWR Big Band, has now proudly introduced this master production to deservedly rave reviews. Genius can't be rushed, but it can be achieved. First by Parker, of course, and now by Beasley and Lindgren, in what is a delayed celebration of the one hundred years centennial of Parker's birth in 1920. It was to debut in 2020 live at The Hollywood Bowl. Now instead, Bird Lives will debut nearly two years later with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra on April 4. 2023. Bird Lives had its European debut in Stuttgart, the home of the SWR Big Band, and also in Stockholm in fall of 2021.

With music selected from Bird with Strings, Live At the Apollo (Columbia, 1977) and Charlie Parker Plus Springs ( Mercury Records, 1950), the vision was not simply to honor Parker, but to shed new light on his music with twenty-first century ears, eyes, and capabilities. It's a delicate balance to pay it forward without sacrificing the purposeful enlightenment of an era past. It made sense to use popular/well-known material. The big band classic "Cherokee" started off the record. The Ray Noble penned song was played by many bands, back in the day. It wasn't uncommon then for big band hits to be played by several bands. "Cherokee," however, is probably best recalled by a version from tenor and alto saxophonist Charlie Barnet and his Big Band.

Beasley and Lindgren cleverly attached Parker's composition "Koko" to this take. "Koko" was Parker's first foray into bebop and became a popular song. Merging the big band style with bebop at the outset of this recording spoke volumes conceptually. The sizzling tenor sax of Chris Potter was featured within the hot swing of a dynamite big band, after a scatted entrance from Camille Bertault. Crisp and multi-layered, the horn section built to a mercurial frenzy. The rhythm section set it up and knocked it down, before allowing the flavorful run to glide into a piano groove, and just as smoothly pull it all back together for the memorable trademark melody of "Cherokee." The familiar, and now hot and cozy remembrance, was pulsated by Potter's spirited modern day solo. If this first track was to be indicative of what was in store on the remaining seven tracks, then we were in for something special. And so it proved.

"Summertime" is another jazz classic that has been played and/or recorded by a plethora of different artists in a wide variety of genres over the years. George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin created a tune that can just as easily be breezy or sultry or just about whatever mood you might want it to be. Guitarist Klaus-Peter Schopfer's sweet melodic runs captured the essence of Parker in the twenty-first century, along with a soulful and earthy vibe from saxophonist Tia Fuller. By 1947, Parker, now fully engaged in bebop, took his "Scrapple from the Apple,"" from the big city and abroad. Beasley dices up the percussion, opening up a new order of sizzling tenor sax from Lindgren. All perpetuated by the tightly wound yet leisurely played strings. Also referred to as simply "Scrapple," Parker uniquely used two contrafacts ("Honeysuckle Rose" and "I Got Rhythm") in its composition. It gave him, and now Beasley and Lindgren, an ample playground. Beasley took the assortment of power tools to the furtive landscape and built a sturdy arrangement designed for growth. The brilliantly fluid arrangement was highlighted by Beasley's signature grasp of stops and starts, that were well suited for trumpeter Martin Auer.

Sliding back into another precious standard, Joe Lovano christened this voyage of "I'll Remember April," gracefully feeling and holding every note with Parker-like finesse. Lovano's tenor cascaded over the lush mergence of horns and strings. The gentle sway created melodic entrances for Lovano's creative barrage of sumptuous note selections.The SWR Big Band, powerful and spot on from the onset, had a chance to stretch out and kick it bit on Parker's "Confirmation." The robust Lindgren arrangement weaved together the stealth of the big band with the gorgeous bliss of Lindgren's flute. The band was tight and hopping, but pleasingly not in a rush. Strongly pulsated by the grooves of bassist Axel Kühn. It wasn't a race to the finish. Instead an array of brief peppered solos emerging from the multi-layered big band swing. The eight minute plus explosion did Parker proud in capturing both his intensity and his magic, while sky rocketing it forward.

Many of Parker's compositions have become standards in the industry. Perhaps none more so than "Donna Lee." Here we have the aforementioned familiarity of standards that Parker gifted us, along with new visions seen though the wideness of a modern scope and heard by a collective of both twentieth and twentieth-first century genius. Beasley had just won a 2021 Grammy for "Donna Lee." The Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, was awarded for Beasley's "Donna Lee" reimagine on his album Monk'estra Plays Beasley (Mack Records, 2020). This didn't deter Beasley from inviting the popular miss "Donna Lee" to the prom once again. After all, it is Parker's composition and, of course, this take on has a life of its own. Here light percussion swiftly swings into motion with the full horn section engaging in alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon and tenor saxpphonist Andi Maile's creative explorations. A clever change of direction powers down the band, before once again erupting behind bassist Decebel Badilla and, once again, the nifty note selections of Lindgren on flute.

"Laura" gets around as well, and was not going to miss out on this scintillating instrumental affair. Veteran alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, no stranger to the works of Parker, and well acquainted with "Laura," beautifully found a way to keep us rooted in Parker's era, yet with the airy glimmer of things to come. "Overture to Bird" is what it is intended to be. A grand finale showcasing the vast and varied elements that made, and continue to make, Parker a singular and epic voice in the genre. Lindgren perhaps saved his beat for last with this stunningly sensational arrangement. The melody swirling in and out sharing space with swing and upward adornments, gives a wide birth to the talents of saxophonists Mathias Erlewein and Klaus Graf to excel freely in the moment.

Bird Lives is engaging and exciting from beginning to end. Stellar musicianship, the best of modern day and past composers, all harnessed together as one.

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