By the 1940s Charlie Parker had already long established himself in the small group setting, yet he was still searching for new concepts and settings in which to package his music for audiences. “I was looking for new ways to say thing musically. New sound combinations,” Parker explained. Record producer Norman Granz sought to bring Parker into these new settings by way of touring, recording, and pairing him with the best musicians on the scene. As such, when the idea spawned for Bird to be paired with some of the most accomplished strings players in New York, Parker fully embraced the notion, going around town telling people about his new band with “the cats from Koussevitsky’s band,” referring to Serge Koussevitsky who ran the New York Philharmonic at the time. As the session materialized, Parker came to Mercury Studios on November 30, 1949 and recorded six tunes arranged by Jimmy Carroll with a small chamber orchestra in combination with a jazz rhythm section. One of the songs recorded, “Just Friends,” would go on to define the Bird with Strings sound and inspire jazz musicians of the next generation to follow suit. In July of 1950, Parker expanded his group and recorded another 8 songs to include on the record.
As opposed to the rapid-fire 16-note runs that typified Parker’s sound up until that point, Carroll’s arrangements lent Charlie the opportunity to reveal a tender and lyrical side that fit the string setting beautifully. The spirit of these recordings was rooted in Parker’s innovation and inability to settle for anything he considered recycled or old. This foray would walk the line between jazz and popular music, something Bird had pursued for quite a while. It would end up outselling many of the recordings that first made him known in the as a one the most premier saxophonists of all time.
In honor of 20th annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival and the innovation Parker epitomized, we are presenting Charlie Parker with Strings re-imagined through the eyes of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with the help of guest saxophonists Steve Wilson, Jaleel Shaw, and Azar Lawrence as well as an incredible group of producers. With the help of these amazing producers who remixed the album, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has arranged the music for our premier group of musicians including students from the New School.
The first set of the show will follow the original arrangements from the Charlie Parker with Strings album with Steve Wilson paying homage to the late Charlie Parker. The second set will feature re-imagined arrangements from Miguel Atwood-Ferguson that include remixes from our featured producers as well as Ferguson’s own arrangements. Jaleel Shaw and Azar Lawrence will be the featured soloists in the second set. We are extremely excited to announce the full line-up below:
Full Line-Up:
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Arrangements, Conducting
and special guests Steve Wilson (alto sax), Jaleel Shaw (alto sax), Azar Lawrence (tenor sax)
featuring Mark de Clive-Lowe (piano, keyboards & electronics)
Marcus Gilmore (drums)
Ben Williams (bass)
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Adam Krauthamer (french horn)
Arthur Sato (oboe/english horn)
Brandee Younger (harp)
Carla Fabiani (viola)
Adam Hill (viola)
Patrice Jackson-Tilghman (cello)
Isabel Castellvi (cello)
Juliette Jones (violin)
Katie Kresek (violin)
Andrea Lee (cello)
Stephanie Matthews (violin)
Jannina Norpoth (violin)
Hannah Thiem (violin)
Mina Uma (violin)
Naira Underwood (violin)
Jon Weber (viola)
Alex Weill (violin)
Patience Higgins (clarinet / bass clarinet) - ”Autumn in New York”
Jimmy Cozier (flute/ clarinet) – “Autumn in New York”
New School Students:
Alex Berti (trumpet) - ”Autumn in New York”
Linton Smith (trumpet) - ”Autumn in New York”
Cody Rowlands (trumpet) - ”Autumn in New York”
Thomas Dover (trombone) - ”Autumn in New York”
Albert Baliwas (alto sax / clarinet/ flute) - ”Autumn in New York”
Levon Henry (tenor sax / bass clarinet / clarinet) - Autumn in New York”
Producers:
Cale Hawkins – Remixed “Just Friends”
Hiatus Kiayote – Remixed “Autumn in New York”
Dela - Remixed “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”
Raydar Ellis – Remixed “Summertime” + “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”
Mark de Clive-Lowe – Remixed “Temptation”
Janitor – Remixed “Summertime”
Marcus Strickland -Remixed “April in Paris”
Dexter Story – Remixed “Rocker”
Jay Lotus – Remixed “Laura”
*Original Charlie Parker with Strings Personnel:
Charlie Parker – Alto Saxophone
Al Porcino, Doug Mettome, Ray Wetzel, Chris Girffin, Bernie Privin – Trumpet
Will Bradley, Bill Harris – Trombone
Bart Varsalona – Bass Trombone
Murray Williams, Toots Mondello, Sonny Salad – Alto Saxophone
Hank Ross, Pete Mondello, Flip Phillips – Tenor Saxophone
Stan Webb, Manny Albam – Baritone Saxophone
John LaPorta – Clarinet
Mitch Miller, Eddie Brown, Tommy Mace – Oboe
Joseph Singer, Vinnie Jacobs – French Horn
Bronislaw Gimpel, Max Holander, Milt Lomask, Sam Caplan, Howard Kay, Harry Melkinoff, Sam Rand, Zelly Smirnoff, Ted Blume, Stank Karpenia, Sylvan Shulman, Jack Zayde, Gene Orloff, Manny Fiddler, Sid Harris, Harry Katzman – Violin
Frank Brieff, Isador Zir, Dave Uchitel, Nat Nathanson, Fred Ruzilla – Viola
Frank Miller, Maurice Brown, Joe Benaventi – Cello
Myor Rosen, Verely Mills, Wallace McManus – Harp
Art Ryerson – Guitar
Stan Freeman, Bernie Leighton, Al Haig, Lou Stein, Tony Aless – Piano
Ray Brown, Tommy Potter, Bob Haggart, Curly Russell – Bass
Buddy Rich, Roy Haynes, Don Lamond, Shelly Manne – Drums
Diego Iborra – Percussion
Jimmy Carroll, Joe Lipman, Neal Hefti – Arrangements, Conducting
