Charlie Parker centennial

The alto saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker was born on August 29, 1920. Columbia University’s WKCR is playing his recordings around the clock, today through September 2.

I can claim to have known one musician who played with (or behind) Parker: the composer and cellist Seymour Barab, who was a member of the orchestra for Bird with Strings at New York’s Birdland. Seymour said that from set to set, night after night, every Parker solo on a given tune was a new creation.

If I had to choose just one Parker recording to listen to again and again, it’d be this one: “Embraceable You” (George and Ira Gershwin), with Miles Davis, trumpet; Duke Jordan, piano; Tommy Potter, bass; and Max Roach, drums. Recorded October 28, 1947. I’ve always thought of this recording as signifying autumn and overcoats, so I’m disappointed to learn that the temperature in New York City that day was up in the 70s, a fact I hope to forget.