Bird is the Word and You’re Light as a Feather

Posted by Lance Davis - April 24, 2010 - Barney Hoskyns, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Los Angeles

2

Another foray into ornithology and again featuring excerpts from Barney Hoskyns‘ Waiting For The Sun: A Rock ‘n’ Roll History of Los Angeles. Overall, it’s a solid reference book, but the first 50 or so pages are my favorite. Not enough is written about LA’s postwar music scene, so respect to Hoskyns for addressing not […]

If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger…

Posted by Lance Davis - April 20, 2010 - Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins

14

…there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats.” —Charles Mingus Charlie Parker & Coleman Hawkins - Improvisation (1950) Charlie Parker - alto sax Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax Hank Jones - piano Ray Brown - bass Buddy Rich - drums Super-rare video of one of the 20th century’s greatest musicians, Charlie Parker. Coleman Hawkins […]

Clarence White and his Bluegrass Bebop: 1964-65

Posted by Lance Davis - July 22, 2008 - Charlie Parker, Clarence White, Django Reinhardt, Doc Watson, Joe Maphis, Kentucky Colonels

10

My original plan was to focus solely on Clarence White as an electric guitarist, but it would be professionally remiss to sidestep his formidable acoustic guitar background. So, let’s take a brief tour through CW’s stint in the Kentucky Colonels before matriculating to his work on the Telecaster. Above all, this post and the several […]