Bird’s solos in “Night In Tunisia” and especially in “Out of Nowhere” are still to this day Oct. 2023 beyond belief. there was Bird and there was everybody else
@@mesolithicman164 what Coltrane? Not the Coltrane I know. The Coltrane I know is god level, nothing better in history. You don't know what are you talking about.
My father played him and Lester Young man I'm only 70 but I feel good and the statement that they play is amazing I have a lot of history it's part of my life a definitely good part
Beautiful documentary. What an immensely talented musician he was! He is an icon, a legend and I wish he was celebrated. These talented black musicians from the early 1900 were truly special. They were pioneers. They created beautiful music out of the pain and suffering they experiencedfrom the injustice they faced day in day out. I wish they celebrated them all. These are the people that should be honoured with tribute statutes throughout America and children should learn about these iconic figures in schools.
This may be the greatest documentary I've ever seen, and I'm old and a music nerd so I've seen a lot. At least it's my favorite. The eloquence of the people interviewed, the passion with which they spoke, the musical examples... Just magnificent.
A wonderful documentary on an often misunderstood genius. It not only tells Charlie Parker's story, it underscores the role that Kansas City played in the development of jazz as an art form. This is a story of a city that remains to be told. This documentary has scratched that surface.
I learned about the KC scene through biographies. I don’t know where I would be without black music. I’ve always been fanatical about so many forms of music.
The Best! film I've ever seen about Charlie Parker. So to the heart and respectful. Especially clearing up the bad image of him being a junkie. It took me weeks to learn " Bloomdido " at half his speed. Nuff said. Bird was from a higher dimension he really and truly was. God bless you Charlie!
I LOVE coming across videos like this. It’s amazing hearing other people who came way before me talk about music and playing and instrument so intimately. It honestly lets me know I’m not crazy 😂😂😂. “I spend time with my instrument” is how I will refer to ANY thing that requires practice‼️ It’s about the mindset. Thank You 🙏🏾
When I was in KC almost 20 years ago for the unveiling of the Charlie Parker Memorial statue (I worked with the artist). I loved telling people, "In a hundred years Kansas City will be known for Charlie Parker more than anyone else." "No. What about Truman?" Yes, he was president. Tell me, who painted the Sistine Chapel? Everybody: Michelangelo. Okay, the Pope who hired him was the most powerful man in Europe - what was his name? Everybody: Don't know. (Some say Sixtus nope, but the chapel bore his title) In the course of time it is the artist who is remembered because when art changes the world those changes last forever. Parker changed music, that puts him in a league with Mozart, Bach and few others. Others may have made a lot more music, but Charlie Parker changed music. And the music changed us. BIRD LIVES!
There is no need to denigrate Harry Truman. His leadership during a very difficult time in world history was important to western civilization. I love bird, but you got to keep things in perspective. Bird stands on his own 2 feet.
He made the right decision. What would you have done, facing what would’ve been the slaughter of hundreds of thousands to millions of Japanese civilians and hundreds of thousands of US servicemen in taking the Japanese islands, not to mention dealing with the Soviets to the Northwest?
Such a raw sweet tone, lively and cheeky but levelling out with a charming conclusion. I haven't listened to Charlie Parker for a few years, crazy omission but you know life gets in the way.
Charlie is one of the few musicians who brings tears to my eyes, as great music does to me. Years later this video touched a heart in Portland - appreciated.
Great show and wonderfully articulate musicians. Bird’s influence on so many jazz greats (Rollins, Coltrane, Miles and so many more) is a testament to his timeless genius. Bird Lives within us. Bless you Bird!
A great documentary which takes away more of the myths surrounding the great jazz player. It spells it out more than most ,what it takes, I guess it's not rocket science ,but it is total dedication at some point, and there lies the trick. Really enjoyed this thanks for the upload
@30:18 that caught me by surprise....such emotion. Real nice playing,! I was lost in thought of what was being said about " going thru, instead of around......and then.....!"
He changed the way you played the alto saxophone 🎷 he's a titan one of the pillars of jazz because he was a innovative the greatest alto saxophonist of all time 🙌 ✨ the man 👨 alto and saxophonist john Coltrane and Parker the best period
I’m not from Kansas City, but my Black father & White mother loved jazz and I can remember hearing in the late 1950’s/early 1960’s jazz music by Parker, Miles, Dizzy, Monk and others when I was a kid. As an adult I listen to that same music today and have played it for my son. The music is beauty and I’m so proud it’s American born. I just wish the beauty of jazz would make the still present racism and other forms of hatred go away.
The "Famous Alto Break" is on the recording of "Night in Tunisia" was recorded in 1947 LA on Ross Russell's Dial records. The trumpeter on that date was not Dizzy Gillespie it was Miles Davis.
the guy says it all in the first sentences. Bird was incredible, a beautiful sound and beautiful muscical lines. Dolphy had a tone that was very simiar, on alto and may be the only real Parker disciple that went a little further.
I don't understand why jazz musicians nowadays prefer to play "Out of Nowhere" more uptempo than the Charlie Parker version. The melody is so beautiful; why hurry it?
I didn't know that story about Bird breaking his back in a car accident; it's not mentioned in any biography I've read about him, and it explains a lot about why he became addicted to heroin.
Amazing documentary. What a blessing paradoxically for Black people to have been cruelly transported to this country as slaves, and be able to cultivate the potential we see exhibited throughout American history. That's what trauma and severe tests bring out in humans who could withstand the cruelties of racism and evolve all manner of genius. The human being is like an acorn, and within are hidden potentials to become a variety of different oak trees so to speak given to right nourishment and opportunities.
I grew up in Queens NYNY in the 1940's, 50's & 60's. My sis got married in 1951 and Dancing in The Dark was her wedding tune by Bird. I got into Black Music (R & B) and My older Bro got into Jazz while in the Marine Corps. He sent home a bunch of Jazz LP's. I started going to clubs, Birdland The 5 Spot, The Half Note etc. I love Jazz! Bird has always been a Hero to me as was Pres & Getz! Not all of Whites were oblivious to Jazz Super Stars. Just sayin.
To quote Jimi Hendrix: "I don’t happen to know much about jazz. I know that most of those cats are playing nothing but blues though - I know that much!"
Great lessons in this video..ie Be Yourself. Colleges turn out Coltrane clones (ok copy/model your hero till you work it out) but the GREATS you know from the 1st bar) Play YOU. That's what JAZZ is about.
It would be nice to see the Los Angeles PBS station create documentaries on the likes of Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus, and Eric Dolphy. Perhaps the Philadelphia PBS station could do the same for the likes of the Heath brothers (Jimmy, Albert, and Percy), McCoy Tyner, and Lee Morgan. North and South Carolina PBS stations, respectively, obviously should be motivated to create documentaries on John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie, while Pittsburgh's PBS station could create documentaries on Earl Hines, Art Blakey, and Bill Eckstein. That still leaves Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, St. Louis, and even Newport, Rhode Island, the home of the Newport Jazz Festival for generations. A random thought today is a documentary series sometime tomorrow...
That would be great... I would add Buddy Collette and Art Pepper to the LA list. Collette was friends with Mingus when they were young, and Dolphy was a student of his.
@@rillloudmother I'm not a jazz scholar by any measure, but I thought it was a good introduction to the genre, albeit a cursory look at the many jazz greats over the years
This was beautifully done, thank you for creating this and making it available. Bird Lives!
We're glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
Bird Lives is tattooed on my calf. Only tattoo I got
@@KansasCityPBSa perfect comment.
So glad I am still alive at 93 to have seen Charlie Parker live at several clubs. Birdland was our favorite
spot. Beautiful. Don Mackay
D Mackay
Nice to be able to say you saw a musical legend in action.
You are very fortunate, in at least two ways.
How wonderful that must be to have these fantastic memories of Bird playing live music!
Show-off.
Thank you for sharing that, man.
Bird’s solos in “Night In Tunisia” and especially in “Out of Nowhere” are still to this day Oct. 2023 beyond belief. there was Bird and there was everybody else
I love how Charlie’s face never changed, when he was a tiny child,he had that same exact face and smile 😂
The deeper I get into the music the more I realize that Bird was the best improvising musician that has ever been.
I think Coltrane is a serious contender. Have you checked that out?
@@ManelRuivo lol, of course.
Agreed - and I’m a Trumpet player!
Bird was able to improvise so fluently and melodically over anything. Coltrane and the rest, while brilliant, are a notch below.
@@mesolithicman164 what Coltrane? Not the Coltrane I know. The Coltrane I know is god level, nothing better in history. You don't know what are you talking about.
My father played him and Lester Young man I'm only 70 but I feel good and the statement that they play is amazing I have a lot of history it's part of my life a definitely good part
Another testament to musical genius. Bird lives and soars
Ornithology is one of my favorite riffs ever.
Jazz is the truest form of art ever. More than just music, it is almost a philosophy.
For a very, very long time Bird provided the only meaning my life had.
He was pretty much my only friend in high-school
The Kansas City Airport should have his name on it.
Absolutely!!
The airport is white.
Birdland 2.0
That graphic displaying the notes being played by Bird is sheer artistic and technological genius in its own right.
It struck me that way as well! Would be a great teaching aid!
Weren’t those guitar chords?
So happy to see people made an effort to make a J A Z Z documentary back in 2020.
YES!! About the greatest musicians ever!!
Beautiful documentary. What an immensely talented musician he was! He is an icon, a legend and I wish he was celebrated. These talented black musicians from the early 1900 were truly special. They were pioneers. They created beautiful music out of the pain and suffering they experiencedfrom the injustice they faced day in day out. I wish they celebrated them all. These are the people that should be honoured with tribute statutes throughout America and children should learn about these iconic figures in schools.
Read Richard Sudhalter's extraordinary book, Lost Chords, for a balanced account of the creators of the first two generations of jazz.
"Changing the molecules of the air around you....with live music..." that's so poetically beautiful!
This may be the greatest documentary I've ever seen, and I'm old and a music nerd so I've seen a lot. At least it's my favorite. The eloquence of the people interviewed, the passion with which they spoke, the musical examples... Just magnificent.
Charlie Parker was a gift from God to humanity.
The shockwaves of his art have not subsided; it is “too soon“ to assess the magnificence of this genius. But, we all know it to be true!
Straight ahead, brother. 👍
A wonderful documentary on an often misunderstood genius. It not only tells Charlie Parker's story, it underscores the role that Kansas City played in the development of jazz as an art form. This is a story of a city that remains to be told. This documentary has scratched that surface.
Indeed. I couldn’t care less about Churchill the imperialist.
I learned about the KC scene through biographies. I don’t know where I would be without black music. I’ve always been fanatical about so many forms of music.
The Best! film I've ever seen about Charlie Parker. So to the heart and respectful. Especially clearing up the bad image of him being a junkie. It took me weeks to learn " Bloomdido " at half his speed. Nuff said. Bird was from a higher dimension he really and truly was. God bless you Charlie!
I LOVE coming across videos like this. It’s amazing hearing other people who came way before me talk about music and playing and instrument so intimately. It honestly lets me know I’m not crazy 😂😂😂.
“I spend time with my instrument” is how I will refer to ANY thing that requires practice‼️ It’s about the mindset. Thank You 🙏🏾
I don't hear the darkness in his music I hear a lot of light.
When I was in KC almost 20 years ago for the unveiling of the Charlie Parker Memorial statue (I worked with the artist). I loved telling people, "In a hundred years Kansas City will be known for Charlie Parker more than anyone else."
"No. What about Truman?"
Yes, he was president. Tell me, who painted the Sistine Chapel?
Everybody: Michelangelo.
Okay, the Pope who hired him was the most powerful man in Europe - what was his name?
Everybody: Don't know. (Some say Sixtus nope, but the chapel bore his title)
In the course of time it is the artist who is remembered because when art changes the world those changes last forever.
Parker changed music, that puts him in a league with Mozart, Bach and few others. Others may have made a lot more music, but Charlie Parker changed music. And the music changed us. BIRD LIVES!
Better than Bird? Nah!
There is no need to denigrate Harry Truman. His leadership during a very difficult time in world history was important to western civilization. I love bird, but you got to keep things in perspective. Bird stands on his own 2 feet.
@@ZRJZZZZZ Harry Truman will be remembered as the first (and hopefully last) human being to authorize the use of nuclear weapons against civilians.
He made the right decision. What would you have done, facing what would’ve been the slaughter of hundreds of thousands to millions of Japanese civilians and hundreds of thousands of US servicemen in taking the Japanese islands, not to mention dealing with the Soviets to the Northwest?
@@ZRJZZZZZ Wow, you have an opinion!
Such a raw sweet tone, lively and cheeky but levelling out with a charming conclusion. I haven't listened to Charlie Parker for a few years, crazy omission but you know life gets in the way.
I've only watched the introductory 3+ minutes and I can already tell this is one of the best jazz documentaries I'll ever see.
Kansas City produces world-defining talent. We love to see it.
Extraordinary I enjoyed this and learned quite a lot about Bird that I didn't know. Thank you so, so much. Bird Lives!
so much fantastic music in this film... i'm absolutely flattened.
Charlie Parker is all time legend
I love it when Bobby demonstrates how the music changed! Beautiful!
Charlie is one of the few musicians who brings tears to my eyes, as great music does to me. Years later this video touched a heart in Portland - appreciated.
Rest in peace Charlie Parker
If there is anything more sublime than a Bird solo I would love to know about that too.
there are a few, surely
"As sublime," yes. "More sublime," no.
@@albionseed4866 you're absolutely right, there's no more or less sublime.
Try Mozart, he ain’t bad,either!
Great show and wonderfully articulate musicians. Bird’s influence on so many jazz greats (Rollins, Coltrane, Miles and so many more) is a testament to his timeless genius. Bird Lives within us. Bless you Bird!
Charlie Parker is all time legend and one of my favorite music artist ever in music history.
A privilege to watch- thank you sharing
I dig Bird to the max
So beautiful to hear the birds sing when the man from kenya was talking about parker, like he's still there
Criminally underviewed
absolutely beautiful. just fantastic, thrilling. thanks kansas city pbs, love you!
Happy Birthday Charlie
Awesome presentation. Nobody has ever touched Parker.
the coolest....
That opening! every time I hear Charlie Parker there's something new.
This man shook the whole world! Incredible and intense beauty of his thoughts….
So beautiful he was a natural song bird💓💜💓
Marvelous documentary. Many thanks 😊
At EACH AUDITION, A MOMENT OF CARING IN THE SOUL
This was wonderful. Fabulously done.
Only thing as amazing as bird - is the courage of anyone who continued to play alto after hearing Koko. Bird lives.
You mean, Trane?
The contemporary of Jazz is so relaxing & harmonizing, just make me think of another time of my life, even if I was born 40 decades after, oh, yea!!!
A great documentary which takes away more of the myths surrounding the great jazz player. It spells it out more than most ,what it takes, I guess it's not rocket science ,but it is total dedication at some point, and there lies the trick. Really enjoyed this
thanks for the upload
Thoroughly shredded my soul experiencing this presentation. Thank you!!!!
❤. Thought provoking and congratulations to all involved.
Yardbird lives in my heart.
The Mozart of Our time, Ashamed of how he was and is buried in Kansas 🖤
Charlie Parker is buried in Kansas City, MISSOURI.
@30:18 that caught me by surprise....such emotion. Real nice playing,! I was lost in thought of what was being said about " going thru, instead of around......and then.....!"
I was born in Saint Louis and I grew up in Springfield Missouri!
All modern American music begins with Charlie Parker.
25:29 absolutely right this man has said it and I can only learn form it.
LOVE THIS - thank you so much!
He changed the way you played the alto saxophone 🎷 he's a titan one of the pillars of jazz because he was a innovative the greatest alto saxophonist of all time 🙌 ✨ the man 👨 alto and saxophonist john Coltrane and Parker the best period
Indeed both are the greatest jazz players of all time
I love this documentary. Thanks to the filmmakers and the musicians interviewed. Beautiful music and insights.
Great. Thank you.
Great show!
I’m not from Kansas City, but my Black father & White mother loved jazz and I can remember hearing in the late 1950’s/early 1960’s jazz music by Parker, Miles, Dizzy, Monk and others when I was a kid. As an adult I listen to that same music today and have played it for my son. The music is beauty and I’m so proud it’s American born. I just wish the beauty of jazz would make the still present racism and other forms of hatred go away.
Wonderful!!!
The "Famous Alto Break" is on the recording of "Night in Tunisia" was recorded in 1947 LA on Ross Russell's Dial records. The trumpeter on that date was not Dizzy Gillespie it was Miles Davis.
The alto break on "Night in Tunisia" from the famous Massey Hall Concert (in Toronto), with Dizzy on trumpet, ain't bad either.
yeah it was Miles
@@Alanpie314 best jaz album ever. what a line up!
Antarblue ...THE FAMOUS ALTO BREAK (A NIGHT IN TUNISIA) was recorded on March 28, 1946 at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood, California.
There is no greatest this is music.
Beautiful 😍
Excellent!
the guy says it all in the first sentences. Bird was incredible, a beautiful sound and beautiful muscical lines. Dolphy had a tone that was very simiar, on alto and may be the only real Parker disciple that went a little further.
24:02 he’s got some impressive chops…amazing
BEAUTIFUL
great doc on one of jazz's kings, emperor of sound, Bird
I don't understand why jazz musicians nowadays prefer to play "Out of Nowhere" more uptempo than the Charlie Parker version. The melody is so beautiful; why hurry it?
It is about expressing yourself, not playing it verbatim.
Thank you so much for this wonderful lesson.
the kids today don't know about this dude and if they did a whole new world opens up
Fantastic documentary on the great bird
I have listened Logan Richardson in Reggio Emilia in summer. Great great musician and person
This is great! I wish there was more live video of Bird flying around.
Why can’t the folks in Kansas City raise the funds to make a proper memorial sight for Charlie Parker?
I didn't know that story about Bird breaking his back in a car accident; it's not mentioned in any biography I've read about him, and it explains a lot about why he became addicted to heroin.
Same here. I learnt a lot from this documentary.
I 💙 Bird.
Amazing documentary. What a blessing paradoxically for Black people to have been cruelly transported to this country as slaves, and be able to cultivate the potential we see exhibited throughout American history. That's what trauma and severe tests bring out in humans who could withstand the cruelties of racism and evolve all manner of genius.
The human being is like an acorn, and within are hidden potentials to become a variety of different oak trees so to speak given to right nourishment and opportunities.
tellement bon ce reportage,merci!
I grew up in Queens NYNY in the 1940's, 50's & 60's. My sis got married in 1951 and Dancing in The Dark was her wedding tune by Bird. I got into Black Music (R & B) and My older Bro got into Jazz while in the Marine Corps.
He sent home a bunch of Jazz LP's.
I started going to clubs, Birdland The 5 Spot, The Half Note etc. I love Jazz! Bird has always been a Hero to me as was Pres & Getz! Not all of Whites were oblivious to Jazz Super Stars. Just sayin.
Beautiful playing and wonderful stories. I play blues guitar but am starting to get into jazz
To quote Jimi Hendrix: "I don’t happen to know much about jazz. I know that most of those cats are playing nothing but blues though - I know that much!"
Hendrix couldn't carry Wes Montgomery's bowling shoes. 🤣🤣🤣
@@albionseed4866 "Apples don't taste like oranges 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"
@@evanduquette Wes has apples and oranges. Music is music. Truth is truth.
Cool.
Thanks for sharing This.
An Angel! A gift of God on Earth!
25:39 beautifully expressed. This is a great film too. Thanks so much!
Who is the drummer in the group featured in this video? Great brush work 👍🏼🥁
excellent, thank you very much
God bless pbs still doin' it with class...great show...only 42 comments...sad.
I'm from Kansas City Missouri
i did not know about Lonnie Mcfadden. i am impressed.
Great lessons in this video..ie Be Yourself. Colleges turn out Coltrane clones (ok copy/model your hero till you work it out) but the GREATS you know from the 1st bar)
Play YOU. That's what JAZZ is about.
That Stravinsky story was something else.
It would be nice to see the Los Angeles PBS station create documentaries on the likes of Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus, and Eric Dolphy. Perhaps the Philadelphia PBS station could do the same for the likes of the Heath brothers (Jimmy, Albert, and Percy), McCoy Tyner, and Lee Morgan.
North and South Carolina PBS stations, respectively, obviously should be motivated to create documentaries on John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie, while Pittsburgh's PBS station could create documentaries on Earl Hines, Art Blakey, and Bill Eckstein. That still leaves Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, St. Louis, and even Newport, Rhode Island, the home of the Newport Jazz Festival for generations.
A random thought today is a documentary series sometime tomorrow...
That would be great... I would add Buddy Collette and Art Pepper to the LA list. Collette was friends with Mingus when they were young, and Dolphy was a student of his.
Jazz by Ken Burns was great.
@@daniel213141 if you like that whole stanley crouch / wynton narrative... it is a bit revisionist imho, but i'm not mad at wynton / crouch.
@@rillloudmother I'm not a jazz scholar by any measure, but I thought it was a good introduction to the genre, albeit a cursory look at the many jazz greats over the years
This band is amazing