The Newport Jazz Festival had always had a somewhat rocky history. A lot of (racist) locals didn't want a jazz fest in their neighborhood. This sometimes made it difficult to find a venue. Certain musicians took issue with the choice of performers, feeling that there should be more of a focus on artistry than luring in punters with popular entertainers, some of whom didn't even play jazz. Nevertheless, the NJF went down without too much incident from 1954 through 1959, and provided the music world with such transcendent events as Dizzy Gillespie's 1957 appearance and the classic 1959 concert film Jazz on a Summer's Day.
As jazz evolved beyond hummable melodies tailored for dance halls and 78s, Charlie "Bird" Parker was right there pushing it into the freewheeling zone that would become known as bebop. Not that he couldn't play the game. Some of Parker's most memorable recordings were fit for juke boxes and barely set a toe past the three-minute demarcation. But what he did within those three minutes was something entirely new, even if he was sticking to simple, well-traveled blues progressions. The melodic riffs that ostensibly hold things like "Ko-Ko", "Donna Lee", and "Anthropology" together are remarkably complex. Without what most sensible folks might describe as tunefulness, Parker's work was pure musicianship and emotion, whether he was going for the joyful spot with "Groovin' High" or playing it dreamy and romantic on "Parker's Mood".
All written content of Psychobabble200.blogspot.com is the property of Mike Segretto and may not be reprinted or reposted without permission.
