Charlie Parker (1950)

I love Charlie Parker's music. From the moment I first heard Charlie Parker With Strings at Brandt Larson's (sp? sorry Brandt it's been a few years) house in high school, it resonated with me. Anyway, footage of Bird is as rare as hen's teeth (pardon the awful pun), so here is an excerpt from the Norman Granz production, directed by photographer Gjon Mili titled Improvisation from 1950, long believed to be lost. I could think of nothing more fitting to kick my blog off with than this. The full film is available on DVD now, so add head on down to your local video store or pick it up next time you are doing your shopping. Until then, dig this.