Charlie Parker documentary

[ctuck1]

KC PBS documentary new to me.

https://www.pbs.org/video/bird-not-out-of-nowhere-tjtcyb/

 

[RiRiIII]

Many thanks.

[mjazzg]

Thanks for posting this. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Some lovely Bobby Watson, music and words as a bonus

[AllenLowe]

to me, if they were going to show Bird's importance through those that came after - well, there were much better ways to do it. I feel like all these types of documentaries, unlike Bird, just continue to play it safe. Bird was a musical radical, and they have turned him into a symbol of middle-class stability. He was anything but. Too much respectability.

 

[mjazzg]

25 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

to me, if they were going to show Bird's importance through those that came after - well, there were much better ways to do it. I feel like all these types of documentaries, unlike Bird, just continue to play it safe. Bird was a musical radical, and they have turned him into a symbol of middle-class stability. He was anything but. Too much respectability.

 

I saw respect but not necessarily respectability. Nor did I see much representation of 'middle-class stability', could you expand on that point so i can understand what I missed?

[JSngry]

 

[AllenLowe]

On 11/10/2020 at 5:06 PM, mjazzg said:

I saw respect but not necessarily respectability. Nor did I see much representation of 'middle-class stability', could you expand on that point so i can understand what I missed?

there is just this sense in all of these that Bird was a troubled guy who, if only he could have settled down like these other saxophonists, could have been a regular guy. I find this to be a very middle-class attitude. Bird was Bird, and he was what he was because of the way that he was.  I mean, Bobby Watson plays great, but using him on this is a way of taming the craziness of Bird's work and life, to say "this is what Bird's music really means." But that' not right.  I think it's crazy, because Bird's intensity was part of the life he lived, on all levels. Now there IS another side to this - Al Haig always said he thought that at heart Bird longed for stability, for a family life; Dave Schildkraut said the exact same thing. But if we are going to look at Bird's life, we have to show both sides and the battle between them. Instead, these documentaries are like someone trying to domesticate a pet.

Edited November 13, 2020 by AllenLowe

[mjazzg]

41 minutes ago, AllenLowe said:

there is just this sense in all of these that Bird was a troubled guy who, if only he could have settled down like these other saxophonists, could have been a regular guy. I find this to be a very middle-class attitude. Bird was Bird, and he was what he was because of the way that he was.  I mean, Bobby Watson plays great, but using him on this is a way of taming the craziness of Bird's work and life, to say "this is what Bird's music really means." But that' not right.  I think it's crazy, because Bird's intensity was part of the life he lived, on all levels. Now there IS another side to this - Al Haig always said he thought that at heart Bird longed for stability, for a family life; Dave Schildkraut said the exact same thing. But if we are going to look at Bird's life, we have to show both sides and the battle between them. Instead, these documentaries are like someone trying to domesticate a pet.

Thanks for responding. 

[ctuck1]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the video of Hawk listening to Bird as he solos on Ballade.  Priceless.