Artistic Director's Notes
Review of Testimony: The Legend of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker’s contribution to the art and culture of the 20th century must be compared to that of Stravinsky, Picasso or Joyce. A protean modernist, his improvisations encrypt the entire known Western musical syntax of his time into a language in which the commonplace is elevated to the same status as the arcane, the whimsical plays freely with the mordant, in which the barline disappears, literally blown out of the way by a force which lives only as pulse, the same clock that drives life itself. Imitated by many, rivalled by few, his colossal domination of the be-bop form becomes clear when that form is compared to what succeeded it, namely the classicizing structures of hard bop, in which the freedom of Bird’s legacy was replaced by paradigms of harmonic, rhythmic and melodic behaviour. Not until Ornette Coleman’s toy horn blew into the Half Note Club in 1959 would jazz feel the hot wind of freedom again.
It is in recognizing this freedom which lies at the heart of jazz that we come again and again to Parker’s legacy. The philosophy which underlies the AAO is one which recognises the validity of the spontaneous utterance as the essential creative moment in art, arising out of an artist’s personal agon with the materials and influences which form the artistic personality. Parker was able to give form and eloquence to this moment like no other, his soaring melodies the result of infinite computations and decisions made at the speed of thought, performed on instruments much more awkward to play than the balanced-action saxophones of today, horns often held together with rubber bands and chewing gum.
We also recognise the status of Bird as yet another casualty in the racial war which surrounds this music. Dead at 35, Parker took on the status of redeemer and sacrificial lamb in a milieu which claimed the lives of many way too soon: Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Booker Little, even John Coltrane. In our nation, which is paving a road into the future scarred with the potholes of racial intolerance, this tale can be seen as metaphorical.
This tragedy is unveiled subtly and sweetly in Yusef Komunaaka’s verses, and set gorgeously, wittily and wisely by Sandy Evans. As inheritors in some way of Parker’s bequest, each of us has a personal tribute to pay, and within the structures of Sandy’s scores is the space to allow for those personal testimonials to occur. We want to create a space of reflection, a ritual, a theatre in which this process can be shared, hence we have invited our friends Nigel Jamieson and Dan Potra to help us realize this tribute.
– Paul Grabowsky
Reviews of Testimony: The Legend of Charlie Parker
