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Charlie Parker

Opera And Jazz Mingle In 'Charlie Parker's Yardbird'

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee plays the title role in the new opera Charlie Parker's Yardbird. Dominic Mercier/Opera Philadelphia hide caption

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Dominic Mercier/Opera Philadelphia

Deceptive Cadence

Opera And Jazz Mingle In 'Charlie Parker's Yardbird'

The show explores the life of the jazz saxophonist, with Lawrence Brownlee in the title role. It opens this weekend at the Apollo Theater in New York — a stage where Parker played.

Opera And Jazz Mingle In 'Charlie Parker's Yardbird'

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Sax, Drugs And Jazz: Charlie Parker's 'Lightning'-Fast Rise

Charlie Parker, shown here in an undated photo, was a legendary jazz saxophonist. STF/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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STF/AFP/Getty Images

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Book Reviews

Sax, Drugs And Jazz: Charlie Parker's 'Lightning'-Fast Rise

Stanley Crouch, one of the nation's most prominent jazz critics, is the author of the just-released Kansas City Lightning -- part one of a biography of Charlie "Bird" Parker. Reviewer Craig Morgan Teicher says the story starts a little slowly, but when Parker picks up the saxophone, Crouch's writing cooks.

A Braid Of Words: Guest DJ Eduardo Halfon, Author Of 'The Polish Boxer'

Guatemalan author Eduardo Halfon's most recent book, The Polish Boxer, mesmerized us. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Alt.Latino

A Braid Of Words: Guest DJ Eduardo Halfon, Author Of 'The Polish Boxer'

This week on Alt.Latino, the Guatemalan author joins us to discuss his latest book, The Polish Boxer. Hear a conversation about Guatemala, Judaism in Latin America and, of course, music.

A Braid Of Words: Guest DJ Eduardo Halfon, Author Of 'The Polish Boxer'

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From Alt.Latino, With Love

Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Alt.Latino

From Alt.Latino, With Love

This year, we celebrate Valentine's Day alongside some of our favorite artists. Gustavo Santaolalla, Ruben Albarran, Tego Calderon, Lila Downs, Ana Tijoux and Jorge Drexler all share their favorite love songs.

From Alt.Latino, With Love: A Valentine's Day Extravaganza

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Why Jazz Musicians Love 'The Rite Of Spring'

Flutist Hubert Laws is one of many jazz artists to have recorded an adaptation of themes from The Rite of Spring. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images hide caption

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Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

Why Jazz Musicians Love 'The Rite Of Spring'

A 100-year-old ballet, composed by a Russian for a French audience, has become something of a standard in an idiom which didn't exist when it premiered. Whether covered, quoted or praised, Stravinsky's masterwork has inspired multiple generations of improvisers.

The First Five: One Man's Introduction To Jazz

A collage of records. Christopher Toothman/NPR hide caption

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Christopher Toothman/NPR

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

The First Five: One Man's Introduction To Jazz

At the record store, Tom Cole spent most of his time warding off scornful looks as he toted Mothers of Invention LPs around. One day, he decided he needed to learn about jazz. A clerk at Discount Records and Books in Washington, D.C., suggested these five records. No standards; just his absolute favorites.

Hear Tom Cole's Interview With Michel Martin

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Music Interviews

The Nimble, 'Young' Hank Jones

In a career that spans seven decades, pianist Hank Jones has worked with everyone who's anyone in jazz, including Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Billie Holiday. One of the last of his era, Jones celebrates the legends of his time, seeming to downplay his own genius.

The Nimble, 'Young' Hank Jones

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Evolution Of A Song: 'I Got Rhythm'

Judy Garland (right) sang "I Got Rhythm" in the 1943 movie version of the 1930s musical Girl Crazy. Courtesy of MGM hide caption

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Courtesy of MGM

A Blog Supreme

Evolution Of A Song: 'I Got Rhythm'

WBGO

When George Gershwin wrote "I Got Rhythm" for the 1930s musical Girl Crazy, he created one of the most catchy melodies in American history. But little did he know that his lovable song — apart from becoming a hugely popular jazz standard — would evolve into something far greater.

Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Charlie Parker: 'Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection'

It would be impossible to put all of Charlie Parker's significant recordings on one album, but Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection comes close. This two-CD set contains most of Bird's 1945 bebop sessions, as well as "Ko-Ko," one of NPR's "100 Most Important Works of the 20th Century."

Charlie Parker: 'Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection'

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Basic Jazz Record Library

Various Artists: 'The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction To Afro-Cubop 1948-1954'

In the 1940s and 1950s, some of the greatest jazz and Latin musicians performed together in New York and Havana. This festive album, The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction to Afro-Cubop 1948-1954, features Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bebo Valdes and many others who capture the spirit of the era.

Various Artists: 'The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction To Afro-Cubop 1948-1954'

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Basic Jazz Record Library

Charlie Parker: 'Confirmation: Best of the Verve Years'

John Lewis, the artistic director of the Modern Jazz Quartet, once said that Charlie Parker was the "only jazz artist whose every single solo was perfect." Confirmation: Best of the Verve Years captures "Bird" at the height of the bebop era when he was still in his twenties.

Charlie Parker: 'Confirmation: Best of the Verve Years'

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Tame The Devil Horn: Steve Wilson's Intro To Alto Sax

Steve Wilson introduces five alto saxophonists who've mastered this beast of a horn. John Abbott hide caption

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John Abbott

Take Five: By Artist Recommendation

Tame The Devil Horn: Steve Wilson's Intro To Alto Sax

While the tenor sax is the most popular woodwind instrument in jazz, the alto sax holds a unique position. It's a beast of an instrument to master, and in Steve Wilson's 35 years behind the horn, he's only discovered his personal sound in the last 10. Here, Wilson introduces five alto sax grand masters.

Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 2

Charlie Parker. STF/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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STF/AFP/Getty Images

NPR's 'Jazz Profiles'

Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 2

By the mid-1940s, he had already flipped the jazz world on its head. After he returned to New York in 1947, he would finally find fame. Ever the innovator, Charlie Parker sought to expand upon his bebop breakthrough for the rest of his musical career.

Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 2

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Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 1

Charlie Parker, ca. Aug. 1947. William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com hide caption

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William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com

NPR's 'Jazz Profiles'

Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 1

He was a self-taught innovator who used the alto saxophone to change the way musicians would forever speak. He was one of the great improvisers in jazz and together with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk, he fashioned a new music called "Bebop."

Charlie Parker: 'Bird Lives!' Part 1

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Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Charlie Parker: 'Jazz at Massey Hall'

The 1953 album Jazz at Massey Hall contains the only jazz composition sung by a United States president while in office. The song is "Salt Peanuts," performed by Jimmy Carter at the White House Jazz Festival. Jazz at Massey Hall also documents one of the rare moments when Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and The Quintet recorded together.

Charlie Parker: 'Jazz at Massey Hall'

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Listening, Party For Two: Charlie Parker, 'Donna Lee'

Charlie "Bird" Parker. STF/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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STF/AFP/Getty Images

A Blog Supreme

Listening, Party For Two: Charlie Parker, 'Donna Lee'

Bird is on the brain at NPR music, so the blog editor and his boss listen to an uptempo bebop classic from 1947. It features Max Roach, Bud Powell, Tommy Potter and a young trumpeter named Miles Davis.

Donna Lee

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