Re: Charlie "Yard Bird" Parker the Klezmer?

[BarMusProd <BarMusProd...>]

Dear Mel,

In a message dated 12/26/03 7:20:52 PM, mkorn (at) rogers(dot)com writes:

>I have an interesting question (to me anyway). I was watching the Clint
>
>Eastwood film “Bird” with my son today. About 40 minutes into it there
>is a
>
>sequence where Bird takes a gig as a sideman with Red Rodney (Chudnick)
>for
>
>a “Society Gig”. Next scene sees Forest Whittaker as Bird, wearing white
>
>yarmulke, playing what the movie’s producer’s determined was a Klezmer
>tune,
>
>at what is presented as a Chasidic wedding.
>
>
>
>My question is, was this artistic licence to highlight that Bird played
>and
>
>toured with Red Rodney, or did Charlie Parker actually play a Klezmer gig?
>
>Does anybody on this list know?
>
Maybe someone responded privately to you with the following answer, but if 
not... I certainly don't know about Parker's playing a klezmer gig (although I 
wouldn't put it beyond him), but Red Rodney (née Robert Rodney Chudnick) 
played 
with Parker's regular quintet (the other two trumpeters that alternated with 
Red during this period were Miles and Kenny Dorham) between 1949 and 1952, 
right after Rodney left the Woody Herman band.

In 1992, right after one of my productions won a Grammy award (Chanticleer's 
"Colors of Love), at one of the parties following the ceremony, I had the 
pleasure of listening to Red Rodney play with his own quintet for about 2 
hours. 
At the age of 65 (and two years before his death), his was still playing with 
vigor and fire to a basically disinterested audience who were more interested i
n the free food than the free music. He was magnificent that evening.

Best wishes,
Steve

Steve Barnett
Composer/Arranger/Producer
Barnett Music Productions
BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com 

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