The Gillespie-Parker quintet (with Powell, Potter, and Haynes) opened at Birdland
on March 29, and there is a WJZ broadcast from
March 31. Powell was soon replaced by Billy Taylor, and the group remained
at Birdland until April 8.
This set was broadcast as part of VOA's Jazz Club USA. Birdland, which
had opened in mid-December 1949, quickly became one of the best places in New York
to hear "modern" jazz -- hence Feather's descriptions: "New York's outstanding
home of modern jazz," "the so-called jazz center of the world," etc. Here Feather
says that Birdland had been open for about eighteen months, so the broadcast may
have taken place in April-May 1951.
The Jazz Club USA broadcasts were announced in the press in March 1951.
By mid-March, thirteen of the planned 26 programs had been produced, compiled on
16" transcription recordings, and were ready for shipment to Europe and South America;
they were also broadcast directly on shortwave on Mondays, 9:45–22:15 GMT. (Musical
Express, March 30, 1951, "The State 'Voice of America' broadcasts 'Jazz
Club USA'"; Billboard, March 19, 1951, p. 10: "Feather to E.T. Show for
'Voice of America'"). According to Variety (March 14, 1951), "Leonard
Feather will broadcast from Birdland on Saturday, April 7. The program will include
a live jam session that may turn into a regular Saturday event". The New York Times
has that Birdland broadcast beginning at midnight on Sunday (April 8), so that may
be the correct date of this broadcast. There is a lot of commotion in the background
during Feather's interview with Parker and his closing comments, and this may be
the impressionist George Kirby, who performed on
March 31 when Symphony Sid emceed the WJZ broadcast mentioned above.
According to the New Yorker (March 24, 1951, p. 6), the Errol Garner Trio,
Slim Gaillard, and Charlie Parker with Strings closed on March 28: "Next evening
Charlie Parker (completely unstrung this time), joins Dizzy Gillespie's outfit,
and Georgie Auld's outfit also moves in." But we have a WJZ broadcast of Charlie
Parker with Strings from April 7, so the
strings group must have stayed on.
I'm grateful to Leif Bo Petersen and James Accardi for help with this session.
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