Re: Charlie "Yard Bird" Parker the Klezmer?

[Renaissance Man <rainlore...>]

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On 26/12/2003 at 20:21 Mel Korn wrote:

>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?

The incident depicted is well documented in Chan Parker's as well as other 
biographies of Bird. Bird and his band were going through one of many rough 
patches and hard up for gigs, Red had a gig (in the form of the Chassidic 
wedding) but no band. Although only one such date is shown in the movie, Bird 
and Red played a number of such occasions. However, I have never come across 
any references yet claiming that they actually played any form of klezmer music 
as such, though I suppose it's conceivable that Red might have used a 
traditional klezmer tune or two on these occasions, as the basis for a bop 
arrangement.


Richard


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