Furthermore, one could look at examples such as Coleman Hawkins’ famous 1939 rendition of Body and Soul or Don Byas’ 1945 Town Hall duos with Slam Stewart ( I’ve Got Rhythm and Indiana) to see that many of these harmonic aspects were already quite developed. Just about any recording of Tatum demonstrates a harmonic language that rivaled anything from the musicians of Charlie Parker’s time. Among others, the music of pianists Duke Ellington and Art Tatum, as well as saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas, demonstrated an already quite sophisticated grasp of harmony. Although much more has been written about the harmonic aspects of Bird’s musical language, most of this harmonic conception was already present in the music of pianists and saxophonists from the previous era, before Parker arrived on the scene. In my opinion, by far the most dramatic feature of Bird’s musical language is the rhythmic aspect, in particular his phrasing and timing, not only his own playing but in combination with dynamic players such as Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Bud Powell, Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. This story has been told many times before the clothes may be different, but it is the same story. In studying the history of how this music was developed, one can glean a great deal of insight about the natural world as well as human nature in general. There is much in the way of technical things such as melodic movements and progressions, etc., but there are also the linguistic aspects of Parker’s music and the emotional and spiritual content. I get a lot of what I call micro-information from Parker. Many others, John Coltrane for example, contributed to the expression of this transitional music on a technical, intellectual and spiritual level. For me, Parker translated these combined ideas, via a style that is a sophisticated version of the Blues, into something that can express life, from the point of view of the African-American experience in the 20th century. Parker was also someone whose function would be analogous to the role of a master drummer in traditional West African societies. His written compositions, similar to many other very strong spontaneous composers, were mainly jumping-off points for his spontaneous discussions. I view Parker as a major composer, albeit primarily a spontaneous composer. – as well as the music of many other musicians – probably has the greatest influence on my own music. ( I will soon insert links to the recordings that are referenced here) You are here: Home > THE DOZENS: STEVE COLEMAN ON CHARLIE PARKER (edited by Ted Panken & Steve Coleman) THE DOZENS: STEVE COLEMAN ON CHARLIE PARKER (edited by Ted Panken & Steve Coleman)
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