For our "Bird at 100" show, Jazz Night in America locks in on a Parker tribute featuring two alto saxophonists well suited to the task: leading bebop practitioner Charles McPherson and the ever-soulful Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson. They joined forces for a Jazz at Lincoln Center concert organized by trombonist Vincent Gardner, with a focus on the iconic Charlie Parker with Strings recordings — a crossover landmark, and a byproduct of Parker's sincere interest in classical modernism.
We'll hear vibrant music from the concert — not only standard fare like "Just Friends," but also pieces like George Russell's "Ezz-thetic," which Parker never had the chance to record. We'll also hear insights from Carl Woideck, one of Parker's biographers, and violinist Teddy Blume, a key member of his string section. What it all amounts to is a reaffirmation of Parker's continuing relevance, as McPherson succinctly puts it. "When you do these kinds of projects," he reflects, "in a way, this is when you realize how great Bird was."