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8-panel Digipak Album
“Three top-flight altoists harmonize, twine and showboat on tunes from the Parker repertoire and several appealing in-the-spirit originals.”
— Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times
“It’s partly cutting contest, partly joyful invocation of the spirit of Bird.”
— Phillip Booth, JazzTimes
“Blistering live set from three contemporary masters of Parker’s main instrument, the alto saxophone…The result evokes Parker’s musical universe with personality.”
— Chris Pearson, The Times (UK)
#1 JazzWeek radio chart (4 weeks)
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August 29, 2020 marked the centennial of one of jazz’s most iconic figures, Charlie Parker. The celebration gets off to a jubilantly swinging start with an alto saxophone summit bringing together Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson and Gary Bartz. Along with a superb rhythm section, the three distinctive altoists pay tribute to Parker’s legacy in the most apt fashion for this ground-breaking pioneer: by carrying his innovations forward in their own utterly singular styles.
The soul-stirring BIRD AT 100 traces a direct lineage from Parker’s birthplace in Kansas City to the stage of Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, where three influential acolytes look back from the vantage point of jazz in 2019, with a combination of reverence, respect and adventure. The program offers a buoyant mix of classic Parker tunes, familiar standards once recorded by Bird (and the generations since) and new compositions written in honor of the master.
The trio is ably backed by a rhythm section that has deeply imbibed the entire sweep of that history: pianist David Kikoski, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Carl Allen. All three are regular collaborators with Herring, thus bringing a well-established chemistry to this all-star outing.
“The influence of Charlie Parker is a constant thread that runs through all of us,” says Herring, who brainstormed the date. “It’s amazing how much Charlie Parker has touched so many different people in their pursuit of music. We certainly take in other influences as well, and of course we all hope to put our own stamp on it, but Bird is always there through his vocabulary and his way of interpreting of the music.”
released November 28, 2019
Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
Bobby Watson – alto saxophone
Gary Bartz – alto saxophone
David Kikoski – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Carl Allen – drums
Recorded Live at SMOKE Jazz Club, NYC
August 30, 31 & September 1, 2019
Produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith
Musical Direction by Vincent Herring
Recording by Tyler McDiarmid and Geoff Countryman
Mixing and Mastering by Christopher Allen
Photography by Jimmy and Dena Katz
Liner Notes by Ted Panken
Design by Damon Smith and Paul Stache
