Session details: Royal Roost Club (December 25, 1948)

Charlie Parker session details

December 25, 1948 (11 items; TT = 23:50)

Royal Roost Club, New York NY

WMCA-AM radio broadcast (B+)

Show chatter

Charlie Parker (as); Kenny Dorham (tpt); Al Haig (p); Tommy Potter (b); Max Roach (d); Conti Candoli (tpt); Benny Green (tb); Charlie Ventura (ts); Ben Ventura (bs); Roy Kral (p); Dillon "Curley" Russell (b); Ed Shaughnessy (d); Jackie Cain (voc); Symphony Sid Torin (ann); Bob Garrity (ann)

1	Announcement (Bob Garrity)	0:19
	"We're gonna take you direct to the Royal Roost on Broadway for the broadcast, first I'd like to remind you that the famous Music Hall Credit jewelers give up their time just to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Music Hall jewelers, at 1277 Sixth Avenue at 51st Street in Manhattan, the home of the bop pin. And right now, down on Broadway to the Royal Roost we go 'Jumping with Symphony Sid'..."
2	Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (with introduction) (L. Young)	1:16
	Voiceover from 0:14. SS: "And so once again, ladies and gentlemen, Friday night, Saturday morning, when we take our WMCA microphones right down to the Royal Roost, the original Metropolitan Bopera House, and bring you some of the greatest in modern progressive jazz featuring the wonderful Mr. B, Billy Eckstine, the sensational and wonderful Charlie Ventura and his gone group, and of course the great Bird, Charlie Parker and the All-Stars, who are now doing our theme, 'Jumpin' with Symphony Sid', and I know that we're really set for a wonderful morning, a brand new Christmas morning, bringing in a 1949 year that I know a lot of you frantic ones out there will really enjoy. And, ladies and gentlemen, Charlie Parker and the All-Stars with the great Bird, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Tommy Potter on bass, Al Haig on piano, and Max Roach on drums, do a little thing for you that I know you'll really enjoy..." CP: "'Half Nelson'." SS: "'Half Nelson'..." Parker plays a half-chorus of "Jingle Bells" from 0:15-0:37. Introduction incomplete (0:15) on Savoy 17021/4 and Definitive
3	Half Nelson (M. Davis)	4:31
4	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:48
	"And so on a Christmas night we're down here... Christmas morning, we're down here at the Royal Roost, the wonderful spot where everything is really beautiful, the music is so gone, and as I said before, if you are a purist and you like the kind of things we do on the all-night, all-frantic one, the Royal Roost, ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't dug it you haven't lived. Right? [undecipherable] You know, I'm having a lot of trouble? Sure am -- something's wrong with the microphone, but what do we care, we're on the air and that's all that matters. You know somebody called a little while ago, when they called at the studio, and they said, I wonder if you could get Bird to do something on Christmas? Well, it's fitting, this is Christmas, ah, morning, and the Bird's got a little arrangement, a little surprise for you on 'White Christmas'..." Incomplete (0:20) on Savoy 17021/4 and Definitive
5	White Christmas (I. Berlin)	4:52
	During his solo Parker quotes "Jingle Bells" (1:52-1:57), which derails Symphony Sid for a few moments
6	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:41
	SS: "You just leave it to the Bird. Anything you want, Bird'll straighten it. Ah, you never can happen what... you never know what can happen with the Bird on Star Music Hall Credit jewelers giving away all these wonderful bop pins. And who should walk in for his bop pin but Charlie Parker, right?" CP: "Right." SS: "Came into old Music Hall jewelers this afternoon and said, I want my bop pin. (splice) You know, right from Carnegie Hall you come down to the Royal Roost and you really have yourself a wonderful time. That's why, why we expect everybody to be... at the wonderful Carnegie Hall concert. Right now, here's the wonderful thing Bird made for Savoy not so long ago, I think it came out of an album. No, it was a single record on Savoy, a little thing called 'Little Willie Leaps'..." Incomplete (0:09) on Savoy 17021/4 and Definitive
7	Little Willie Leaps (M. Davis)	3:40
	Early in his solo Parker quotes "Why Was I Born?" (0:38-0:41)
8	52nd Street Theme (with closing announcement) (T. Monk)	0:56
	Voiceover from 0:05: "And so, ladies and gentlemen, for the great Charlie Parker and the All-Stars, down here at the Royal Roost, Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Tommy Potter on bass, Al Haig on piano, and the great Max Roach on drums, we brought you about fifteen or twenty minutes of the jazz hour of the all-night, all-frantic one, the Symphony Sid show, where every morning you can call Circle-six-two-five-hundred and really have yourself a wonderful time. We talk about the Royal Roost every morning, we tell you a lot of pretty things that happen down here, a lot of the wonderful music that I hope you really enjoy. I saw meeskite 'In Walked Bud', in walked Bud -- that's the guy that answers telephone calls, just a young pretty boy that we have around the place, you know, just for kicks. Ah, it's Bob Garrity that does all the hard work this morning, so, uh, how 'bout, how 'bout, uh, Bob Garrity..."
9	Announcement (Bob Garrity)	0:47
	"That's what you call abrupt. And here I am, I was almost ready to take a sip of coffee, but it's not good for me anyway, so it's just as well. Well, that takes care of about the first third of the broadcast this morning, direct from the Royal Roost on Broadway between 47th and 48th, listening to the one and only genius of the alto saxophone, Yardbird Charlie Parker and the group, the quintet down there at the Royal Roost. Great music, too. And this is the Christmas morning edition of the jazz hour, being broadcast direct from the Royal Roost, no records this morning between 3:03 and 4:00, strictly live talent, direct from the Royal Roost. Don't go away, because we're gonna be on right up till 4:00, and of course after four, we'll be back here for more records. Right now, over America's leading independent station, WMCA, first on your dial in New York, let's get back to the Royal Roost, 'Jumping with Symphony Sid'..."
10	Yesterdays (with introduction) (J. Kern-O. Harbach)	1:12
	Voiceover from 0:27: "And so once again, ladies and gentlemen, with 'Yesterdays', the theme song of the great Charlie Ventura, the all-time all-star winner on out wonderful jazz poll, Metronome, Down Beat, everybody acclaims this as the greatest little group in the country. The great Charlie Ventura and his wonderful group. Let's give him a great big hand... C'mon, everybody... That's right, it's the great Charlie Ventura and his wonderful little band, featuring Jackie Cain and, uh, Roy Krals [sic] doing the bop vocals, and of course the wonderful Benny Green on trombone. To start things jumpin', here's one with the group that I think you'll enjoy, a thing called 'Birdlane' [sic]..."
11	Birdland (C. Ventura)	4:48
	Green quotes "White Christmas" during his solo (1:18-1:22)


1 Announcement (Bob Garrity) CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441)
2 Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (with introduction) CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
3 Half Nelson 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259, Spotlite SPJ 110, ESP Bird-1 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Savoy SVY 17021/4, Definitive DRCD 11153, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
4 Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin) 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Savoy SVY 17021/4, Definitive DRCD 11153, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
5 White Christmas 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259, Spotlite SPJ 110, ESP Bird-1 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Savoy SVY 17021/4, Definitive DRCD 11153, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
6 Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin) 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Savoy SVY 17021/4, Definitive DRCD 11153, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
7 Little Willie Leaps 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259, Spotlite SPJ 110, ESP Bird-1 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441), Savoy SVY 17021/4, Definitive DRCD 11153, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1335
8 52nd Street Theme (with closing announcement) 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259, Spotlite SPJ 110 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441)
9 Announcement (Bob Garrity) 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2259, Spotlite SPJ 110 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50406 (= COCB 53441)

Davis had left the band, storming off the stand two days earlier. Parker, always the sweetheart, immediately featured two of Davis' compositions in his set. Davis later wrote, "Bird died before we could get even with him."