Word: sax
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...successful in part because Robinson intersperses his monologue with lengthy performances of Parker's own saxophone solos: "Koko", "Warming up a Riff", and "Parker's Mood". Robinson plays so well and so compellingly that we can only imagine the sublime experiences of hearing Parker himself play live. The sax provides a respite from the depressing facts of Parker's life; when Robinson stops playing, we miss its mellow loveliness. The instrument itself becomes a symbol; in its interplay of sound and silence, it makes literal the poignancy of Parker's genius and early death...
With his knowledge of alto and baritone sax, and a flute thrown in good measure, Natchez was a good match...
...Another thing is that the learning curve for younger musicians is a lot steeper...Ben, our tenor sax player, who just started playing six months before I met him, is so much better...
...first year after he joined the band, he met an alto sax player whose experience Natchez uses to illuminate the distinction he sees between jazz...
CHARLIE PARKER IS ONE BIRD you can't catch. Parker, who died in 1955, was a jazz innovator, a sax master, a wildly talented instrumentalist who could improvise his way through songs with an easy daring and offhand profundity. Saxophonists who pay too literal tribute to Bird's work miss its spark and point--its emotionality is linked to its originality...