Charlie Parker Jams on Verve, 1952

While certain critics consider that producer Norman Granz was responsible for encouraging Charlie Parker to veer away from bebop somewhat and venture into more commercial territory, there's no doubt that Granz also helped widen Bird's horizons. It would be enough to mention the classic album Charlie Parker with Strings, in which Parker is paired with a string section to create a masterpiece that has stood the test of time and that would later be imitated by countless jazz soloists. But the producer influenced the career of the saxophonist in other ways, as well. Granz was very involved in the production and promotion of live jazz gatherings known as Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP), all-star groups of jazz musicians who interacted in a jam-session format and who toured both the U.S. and overseas. Many of these live concerts have been preserved on tape thanks to Granz's foresight, and the producer also organized similar studio sessions with an eye to releasing them commercially. One of these, cut in July 1952, involved Parker, who was joined by a stellar cast that included Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges on alto sax, Ben Webster and Flip Phillips on tenor, Charlie Shavers on trumpet, Oscar Peterson on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and J.C. Heard on drums.

Jazz producer Norman Granz

It's well known that all-star dates can be hit or miss, but from the very first bars it seems clear that this one is most definitely a winner. The length of the four cuts recorded (all of them over 13 minutes each) affords plenty of room for each soloist to show off his undeniable talents, and nobody gets in the way of anyone else. The result is a classic jam session that keeps surprising new listeners several decades after its original release. The meeting of these jazz greats is bookended by two bluesy compositions, "Jam Blues" and "Funky Blues," which work perfectly as vehicles for each participant to explore familiar musical territory in a succession of imaginative solos that allow us to experience different approaches to the blues idiom. Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love," introduced by an energetic piano solo by Peterson, is taken at a breakneck tempo and serves as an excuse for some inspired blowing by everyone. Finally, the cut simply entitled "Ballad Medley" presents the group at its mellowest and most intimate, as they tastefully run through a selection of slow standards by Jerome Kern, Matt Dennis, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and others. Throughout the whole session there's that kind of electricity created by a group of excellent musicians who feel comfortable playing together and who constantly spur each other on to achieve new heights with every new solo. The album has been issued on CD as Charlie Parker Jam Session, and its contents are also available as part of the five-disc set The Complete Norman Granz Jam Sessions, which also presents other similar jams produced by Granz in the same time period. While there are other Bird recordings that one should listen to first, in my opinion this remains one of the most satisfying dates of his remarkable career.

Fred Astaire & Oscar Peterson, 1952

Few, if anybody, would disagree that Fred Astaire was one of the foremost dancers of the 20th century. But was he a jazz singer? Apparently, Astaire himself would laugh at the thought. He considered himself, as did most of his audiences, primarily a dancer and often derided his own abilities as a vocalist. Songwriters knew better, though, and recognized in his voice the perfect vehicle for their compositions. To be sure, his range was limited, but whatever he lacked in that department he more than made up for in phrasing and style. His singing is characterized by a rare elegance that is perfectly suited for the urbane melodies and witty lyrics of the songs of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George and Ira Gershwin, among others. No wonder, then, that he introduced a large amount of tunes by these composers that have become standards, titles such as "Let's Face the Music and Dance," "Night and Day," and "Fascinatin' Rhythm," to name but a few. And these were songs that helped put the great in the Great American Songbook.

Although he claimed not to take himself seriously as a vocalist, Astaire loved jazz and jazz musicians, which is hardly surprising, since there is quite a bit of a jazz element in his tap dancing. And he actually had a particularly soft spot for a record project that he did for Verve at the request of label owner Norman Granz, entitled The Astaire Story. In his autobiography, Steps in Time, Astaire recalls these sessions with a mixture of delight and admiration for the musicians with whom he worked: "I found this [album] a most interesting and enjoyable job as Oscar Peterson, Alvin Stoller, Flip Phillips, Charles Shavers, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown and I cut these discs spontaneously on the spot without any prearranged orchestrations. This album, called The Astaire Story, with limited printings, became prominent in the collectors' item category" (301).

Oscar Peterson at the piano

Yet, much more than a mere collector's item, The Astaire Story is a very revealing portrait of Astaire the jazz singer, a relaxed crooner who instinctively plays with the beat and whose phrasing is so casual that at times it almost sounds as though he were reciting the lyrics. The program is made up almost entirely of songs associated with Astaire, and the LP format allows for lengthier arrangements of the tunes, punctuated by lovely solos from Peterson on piano, Shavers on trumpet, Phillips on tenor sax, and Kessel on guitar. Astaire is clearly enjoying himself on these dates, and he sounds as much at ease with Peterson's group as Bing Crosby does on Bing with a Beat accompanied by Bob Scobey (by the way, it's really too bad that nobody ever thought to pair up Der Bingle with Peterson). The result of the Astaire-Peterson sessions, which were held in Los Angeles in December 1952, is what Will Friedwald has called the climax of Astaire's recorded legacy, among the most spontaneous music that either man ever committed to wax, a classic set that offers a definitive glimpse of Astaire having fun and singing jazz in very good company.

John Kirby Meets Beethoven

John Kirby

Since we're celebrating Ludwig Van Beethoven's 245th birthday today, it seems interesting to remember that there are numerous jazz compositions that have been inspired by—and in some cases are plain rip-offs of—classical themes, not to mention jazzmen like Benny Goodman who have dabbled in classical music and classically trained musicians like Andre Previn who have tried their hand at jazz. In fact, Igor Stravinsky was so fascinated by the sound of the Woody Herman Orchestra that he famously composed an Ebony Concerto for Herman in 1945. The examples are too many to list thoroughly here, but one of them is particularly interesting because it concerns a composition by Beethoven himself—John Kirby's "Beethoven Riffs On," based on the second movement of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Born in Baltimore in 1908, Kirby was a tuba player who switched to bass and played with Fletcher Henderson and Chick Webb before forming his own group, the John Kirby Sextet, which was extremely popular at the height of the Swing Era, in the late 1930s and early '40s.

The John Kirby Sextet on stage.

Critical appreciation of Kirby's small band has been mixed. Although he admires some of its soloists, such as Charlie Shavers or Buster Bailey, critic Gunther Schuller considers that the sextet "can in balance barely be considered in the realm of jazz." Ben Ratliff is somewhat more appreciative of Kirby's music, but he still calls the sextet "a gimmick band." While this is true, it must be admitted that Kirby's gimmick was witty and exciting and that many of his recordings have actually stood the test of time. His was a tightly arranged band that oozes with enthusiasm and musicianship, and all the members of the sextet usually sound like they're having fun, whether they're romping through an Irving Berlin tune or jazzing up classical compositions by Frédéric Chopin or Beethoven. One of their most memorable treatments of a classical piece is "Beethoven Riffs On," cut in New York City on January 15, 1941, with Kirby on bass, Shavers on trumpet, Bailey on clarinet, Russell Procope on alto sax, Billy Kyle on piano, and O'Neil Spencer on drums. Clocking in at just under three minutes, this recording is a classic example of Kirby's sound, heavily based on ensemble playing and musical gimmickry, but still allowing a couple of solid, though brief solos by Procope and Shavers. All these years later, it still comes across as engaging and inventive, and I have no doubt that Beethoven himself would have approved of this syncopated version of his composition had he had a chance to listen to it! Unfortunately, despite the huge success of records such as 1938's "Undecided," by the mid-1940s Kirby's recording activities were in steep decline and he disbanded around 1945. He did attempt a failed comeback in the early 1950s, and following complications from diabetes, he passed away in 1952.