Bop Masters Pay Tribute to Bird

In Westerns, they're cool-handed lawmen who get off the noon train to save the town with lightning-fast reflexes and not a flick of apprehension. The equivalent in the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee were these guys, who appeared on the U.K.'s BBC2's TV showcase Jazz 625 in October 1964: trombonist J.J. Johnson, alto saxophonist Sonny Stitt, trumpeter Howard McGhee with Walter Bishop, Jr. on piano, Tommy Potter on bass and Kenny Clark.

All six artists were major contributors to bop's initial success in the mid—and late 1940s. Over the weekend, Bill Kirchner sent along this video from the show featuring the bebop masters paying tribute to Charlie “Bird" Parker. They performed Buzzy, Lover Man, Now’s the Time and Buzzy as the outro theme. Dig Potter's bass solo and Clarke's drum fills on Now's the Time! A shame they didn't play 12 more songs.

Here's the clip...