Night Lights Classic Jazz

Bird Alive: Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker Boston 1952As the messiah of modern bop, Charlie Parker was one of the first jazz musicians to be recorded widely in live settings. On this program, in honor of the 84th anniversary of his birth, we’ll feature music from Bird’s performances with Bud Powell, Fats Navarro, Charles Mingus, Roy Haynes, and other leading lights of late-1940s and early-1950s jazz, including an impromptu “Well You Needn’t” with Thelonious Monk and a live with-strings appearance at New York City’s Rockland Palace.

Air date: August 28, 2004.

Music Heard On This Episode

Miss D.D.
Mary Lou Williams — Black Christ of the Andes (Smithsonian Folkways, 1964)
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Miss D.D.
Mary Lou Williams — Black Christ of the Andes (Smithsonian Folkways, 1964)
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Round Midnight
Charlie Parker — One Night at Birdland (Tristar, 1950)
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Move
Charlie Parker — One Night at Birdland (Tristar, 1950)
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Cool Blues
Charlie Parker — Boston 1952 (Uptown, 1952)
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Groovin' High
Charlie Parker — Boston 1952 (Uptown, 1952)
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Don't Blame Me
Charlie Parker — Boston 1952 (Uptown, 1952)
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Lester Leaps In
Charlie Parker — Rockland Palace 1952 (Jazz Classics, 1952)
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Rocker (#2)
Charlie Parker — Rockland Palace 1952 (Jazz Classics, 1952)
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Well You Needn't
Charlie Parker — Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings (Mosaic, 1948)
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East of the Sun
Charlie Parker — Complete Savoy Live Recordings 1947-1950 (Savoy, 1949)
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David Brent Johnson

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, David Brent Johnson moved to Bloomington in 1991. He is an alumnus of Indiana University, and began working with WFIU in 2002. Currently, David serves as jazz producer and systems coordinator at the station. His interests include literature, history, music, writing, and movies.

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