Music Review: Rare hometown recordings, 'Bird in Kansas City,' capture Charlie Parker's playful mood

Listening to Charlie Parker’s saxophone gymnastics on a new album of rare recordings is like watching Simone Biles stretch during warmups.

A new collection, “Bird in Kansas City,” captures Parker’s grace and greatness in casual settings. On 13 cuts recorded in his hometown from 1941 to 1951, the bebop pioneer’s playing is largely informal and relaxed, yet still Olympian.

The material, much of it never heard before, includes two sets of private recordings with local musicians made during breaks in his travels and concludes with two unreleased songs with the Jay McShann Band. The album will be released Friday.

Parker solos from start to finish on each of the private recordings, and he’s in fine form, ideas pouring through the sort of improbable improvisations that tested the limits of his instrument — and jazz. There’s some crackle and hiss in the recordings, and his rhythm section can be difficult to hear, but Bird’s alto sax comes through loud and clear.

He experiments with energetic embellishments and long, elaborate phrases never to be repeated. He doesn’t always stick the landing, but it’s virtuosity at high velocity, and his melodic invention still startles.

Parker’s playful mood makes the performances especially appealing. He’s liable to insert scale practice or quotes from other tunes. On “Body and Soul (Phil Baxter Version),” he plays the same note 17 times in a row, and leaves others in the room laughing. That performance is one of seven captured via a portable wire recorder in 1951 during a late-night jam session at a friend’s home, with unknown accompanists on bass and drums.

Also included are four cuts from a studio session arranged by a friend in 1944, when Parker was with the Billy Eckstine Band. Bird is joined by drummer Edward “Little Phil” Phillips and guitarist Efferge Ware, and his playing is especially effortless and even mellow. He makes longtime staple “Cherokee” sound new on the album's Vic Damone version, delves into hot club jazz on “I've Found a New Baby,” and renders an especially romantic reading of “My Heart Tells Me.”

The cuts with McShann from 1941 seem tacked on. The stodgy performances haven’t aged well, and the band sounds remote, although Parker’s solo on “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” is worth a careful listen.

Judges may not give “Bird in Kansas City” a perfect score of 10, but it’s still a welcome addition to Parker’s monumental catalog.

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