Bird Lives!

[Hardbopjazz]

Are there any musicians still alive that played with Charlie Parker? Roy Haynes is the only one that I can come up with.

[Peter Friedman]

Sonny Rollins 

[T.D.]

Lou Donaldson

e.g. Q&A - The Art Scene - Lou Donaldson - The Stanly News & Press | The Stanly News & Press (thesnaponline.com)

[jazztrain]

Gene DiNovi

[sidewinder]

Guitarist Dick Garcia (Montreal 53).

Edited August 30 by sidewinder

[JSngry]

George Freeman

[John L]

I guess that Roy Haynes is probably the only one left who played with Parker regularly as a member of his group.    

[Steve Gray]

Kenny Burrell says  here that he played with Parker

[bertrand]

Roy and Sonny may be the only two who recorded with him, but I could be wrong.

[sidewinder]

Sheila Jordan - don't think she recorded with him but she certainly knew him in the 50s and must have gigged at least informally.

Edited September 2 by sidewinder

[Gheorghe]

When I was a kid there was a book about Bird by Robert Reisner. There is a lot of essays from people who knew him or played with him, who were living then (it must have been written in the 60´s ). 

There were all them names of people who had played with him, among them was also Sheila Jordan whom I didn´t know then. 
But there were also many largly unknown musicians, who might have been part of local rhythm sections,.

But as a kid I was disappointed by that book, I had expected a perfect analysis of what Bird plays and some info to get more inside his music, I was not really interested in non musical "bla bla bla" as I said then. I mean who cooked for Bird and it was very hot and Bird enjoyed it and so on...... I was lookin for other infos.....

[clifford_thornton]

Are any of the Swedes he worked with still alive? Seemingly not from what digging I've done, but perhaps.

[T.D.]

Per Wiki, Dick Hyman "played with Charlie Parker for Parker's only film appearance."

[JSngry]

12 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Per Wiki, Dick Hyman "played with Charlie Parker for Parker's only film appearance."

I keep forgetting he's alive... he's played with a LOT of people.

[Gheorghe]

11 hours ago, T.D. said:

Per Wiki, Dick Hyman "played with Charlie Parker for Parker's only film appearance."

 

10 hours ago, JSngry said:

I keep forgetting he's alive... he's played with a LOT of people.

I don´t really know much about Hyman, the only record I have of him is an italian "Miles Davis-Stan Getz" album from 1950, where he strangly is written in as same big letters as Miles Davis and Stan Getz. And he plays only one trio track on that album that doesn´t seem to have to do anything with the rest of the LP, on which for my luck Tadd Dameron is the pianist. 

But you are right. On the film appearance it is Dick Hyman who plays piano, but I never understood why they didn´t use Bird´s or Diz´s working group for that important performance. 

Dick Hyman plays a fair though unexiting solo, but who was the idiot who did film only his hands ? He is the only musician not filmed on that ? For what reason we will never know. 
But the most dumb thing is the bass player and the drum player. The bass players is hopping around, the drummer has that shiteating grin and plays a corny and stiff drums which sounds more like a dixieland drumming or so. My God, how must have suffered  Bird and Diz with such a drummer and bassist ????? 

[Ken Dryden]

5 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

 

I don´t really know much about Hyman, the only record I have of him is an italian "Miles Davis-Stan Getz" album from 1950, where he strangly is written in as same big letters as Miles Davis and Stan Getz. And he plays only one trio track on that album that doesn´t seem to have to do anything with the rest of the LP, on which for my luck Tadd Dameron is the pianist. 

But you are right. On the film appearance it is Dick Hyman who plays piano, but I never understood why they didn´t use Bird´s or Diz´s working group for that important performance. 

Dick Hyman plays a fair though unexiting solo, but who was the idiot who did film only his hands ? He is the only musician not filmed on that ? For what reason we will never know. 
But the most dumb thing is the bass player and the drum player. The bass players is hopping around, the drummer has that shiteating grin and plays a corny and stiff drums which sounds more like a dixieland drumming or so. My God, how must have suffered  Bird and Diz with such a drummer and bassist ????? 

I think I remember hearing Dick Hyman say that they were the regular trio for this television show and they accompanied the all star guests, probably without much, if any rehearsal. As for the odd camera angles, television was still in its infancy in 1953, so it is little surprise that there weren’t multiple cameras with precise editing to capture what turned out to be such a historic event. Even modern jazz performances out on DVD frequently have bizarre editing where they are focusing on the wrong musician at the start of a solo for far too long.

[mhatta]

6 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:

I think I remember hearing Dick Hyman say that they were the regular trio for this television show and they accompanied the all star guests, probably without much, if any rehearsal. As for the odd camera angles, television was still in its infancy in 1953, so it is little surprise that there weren’t multiple cameras with precise editing to capture what turned out to be such a historic event. Even modern jazz performances out on DVD frequently have bizarre editing where they are focusing on the wrong musician at the start of a solo for far too long.

Some time ago I read Lewis Porter wrote about this TV show.  I didn't know that "Earl" in "That's Earl, Brother" is for this Earl Wilson, the host of this show.

https://lewisporter.substack.com/p/every-film-of-charlie-parker-10-the

[medjuck]

BTW It's Bird's only tv appearance but not his only film appearance.  There's the film he did for Norman Granz though the music was pre-recorded. 

[Gheorghe]

17 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

I think I remember hearing Dick Hyman say that they were the regular trio for this television show and they accompanied the all star guests, probably without much, if any rehearsal. As for the odd camera angles, television was still in its infancy in 1953, so it is little surprise that there weren’t multiple cameras with precise editing to capture what turned out to be such a historic event. Even modern jazz performances out on DVD frequently have bizarre editing where they are focusing on the wrong musician at the start of a solo for far too long.

Ah, a regular trio. As I said I have heard only two pieces of Dick Hyman (one Honeysuckle Rose) on that strange Miles Davis-Stan Getz LP, and the solo on Hot House on the video. 

Both show me a neatly played well schooled in the classical way piano, not less and not more. Anyway, a sensitive playing with a lighter touch and neatly polished phrases. But now does that nice playing fit to them obviously "hinterland" bass and drums players you have to see and hear on that video ?????? 

[JSngry]

Dick Hyman plays a mean calliope!

 

[JSngry]

The drummer was Charlie Smith: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Smith_(drummer)

The bassist was Sandy Block: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Block

Neither were remotely "famous", but they were both highly capable pros who did get gigs when there were plenty of gigs for anybody who could play.

Otoh, Dick Hyman released this record in 1969:

 

That's 1969.

[mikeweil]

Hyman is an extremely versatile open minded and competent player, IMHO. His latter day solo piano albums are great, like he is a link to the past. I heard that Moog album on AFN radio when it was new and was thrilled. It actually was the first time I heard his name. I think it sounds much less dated than most other early synth stuff.

Edited September 6 by mikeweil

[Big Beat Steve]

2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Hyman is an extremely versatile open minded and competent player, IMHO. His latter day solo piano albums are great, like he is a link to the past. I heard that Moog album on AFN radio when it was new and was thrilled. It actually was the first time I heard his name. I think it sounds much less dated than most other early synth stuff.

Agreed overall - from what I've heard by him.

At times he may have been a bit too "eclectic", though. I have an original of the one linked below (where Hyman is on a lot of tracks in very different settings) sitting in my "to listen to before filing" crate (after a brief initial listen I decided to postpone closer listening to all 4 sides until I really was in the right mood for it all  ) :
https://www.discogs.com/master/1509825-Various-The-Seven-Ages-Of-Jazz-A-Live-Concert-Presentation

@Gheorghe:
I think you need to judge these rhythm sections a bit more from their period perspectives. What one would expect (particularly as a musician) style-wise TODAY is not necessarily what would have been the final word then.
And above all, didn't Bird play with countless pickup rhythm sections (of no doubt dubious credentials in many cases) after 1950 when he was booked most often as a single but not with a regular band? So that rhythm section (probalby chosen not least of all for their versatility) cannot have been that inappropriate overall.

[mikeweil]

1 hour ago, Big Beat Steve said:

So that rhythm section (probalby chosen not least of all for their versatility) cannot have been that inappropriate overall.

It definietely was up to date. It was certainly more advanced than your standard swing combo rhythm team. Kenny Clarke's and Max Roach's inventions were brand new then.

Hyman may be eclectic, but I prefer that a lot over players that use more or less cliché phrases in comparison to his pretty authentic knowledge of the older styles. 

[Ken Dryden]

7 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Hyman is an extremely versatile open minded and competent player, IMHO. His latter day solo piano albums are great, like he is a link to the past. I heard that Moog album on AFN radio when it was new and was thrilled. It actually was the first time I heard his name. I think it sounds much less dated than most other early synth stuff.

I agree with your assessment. Hyman plays numerous diverse styles with authority, much like Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland and he is a formidable free improviser as well. I have heard him perform in person as a solo artist, in a duo and with larger ensembles, I have never been disappointed. Don’t overlook his work on pipe organ as well.