Session details: Carnegie Hall (December 25, 1949)

Charlie Parker session details

December 25, 1949 (6 items; TT = 27:12)

Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Voice of America radio broadcast (B)

Show chatter

Charlie Parker (as); Red Rodney [Robert Chudnick] (tpt); Al Haig (p); Tommy Potter (b); Roy Haynes (d); Symphony Sid Torin (ann)

1	Announcement (Symphony Sid Torin, Parker)	1:14
	SS: "We'd like to introduce the first group to you, it makes for a real new 1950 sound, first let's bring 'em on with a great big hand. Charlie Parker -- Charlie Parker and the All-Stars..." CP: "Thank you, Sid." SS: "Thank you, and a very Merry Christmas to you." CP: "Merry Christmas to you." SS: "On piano, ladies and gentlemen, the great gentleman, Al Haig. Al Haig on piano... On trumpet, on trumpet, clean from Brooklyn, we bring you Red Rodney... On bass, on bass, Tommy Potter... And finally on drums, Joe Haynes... Did I say Joe? Well, you know I meant Roy. I didn't mean it, really... And now ladies and gentlemen, to start things off, based on 'How High the Moon', here's 'Ornithology'..." (First 0:10 only on CP-2)
2	Ornithology (C. Parker-B. Harris)	4:23
3	Cheryl (C. Parker)	5:02
4	Ko Ko (C. Parker)	5:10
5	All the Things You Are [Bird of Paradise] (J. Kern-O. Hammerstein)	6:08
	Parker quotes "Moose the Mooche" at 1:32-1:34, "Kerry Dancers" at 1:51-1:56, and "Popeye the Sailor Man" at 2:09-2:13
6	Now's the Time (C. Parker)	5:15
	After a snare-drum burst during Haig's solo, Parker says "Salt Peanuts is next" (4:25-4:26)


1 Announcement (Symphony Sid Torin, Parker) 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337
2 Ornithology 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Volume 58 (W 889), Musica Jazz MJCD 1102, Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337
3 Cheryl 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337
4 Ko Ko 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Musica Jazz MJCD 1102, Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337
5 All the Things You Are 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3, Sounds 1206 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Musica Jazz MJCD 1102, Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337
6 Now's the Time 12" LP: CP-2, Bird Box 01-22 LP 3, Sounds 1206 CD: New Sound Planet JUTB 3003, Sound Hills SSCD 8019, Jass JCD 16, Hi-Hat HHCD 3030, Cool and Blue CD 105, Philology Volume 37 (W 868), Definitive Records DRCD 11375, Frémeaux & Associés FA 1337

The Parker Quintet was the final group in "Symphony Sid's Christmas Party," a gala event that began at 8:30 pm on Christmas Day. Produced by Symphony Sid, Monte Kay, and Leonard Feather, other performers included a Miles Davis all-star group (Davis, Bennie Green, Sonny Stitt, Serge Chaloff, Bud Powell, Curley Russell, Max Roach); the Bud Powell Trio (Powell, Russell, Roach); the Kai Winding/Stan Getz group (Winding, Getz, Al Haig, Tommy Potter, Roy Haynes); the Lennie Tristano Sextet (Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Tristano, Joe Schulman, Jeff Morton); Sarah Vaughan and Jimmy Jones. According to an ad in the Daily News (December 24, p. 19), George Shearing, Errol Garner, and Buddy DeFranco were also to appear; but the surviving recordings do not include their performances.

Some issues of "Cheryl," e.g., as issued on Bird Box, have a Leonard Feather voiceover on Parker's solo, with Feather commenting about "the new school borrowing from the old."

Although Parker can be heard calling "Salt Peanuts" toward the end of "Now's the Time," no recording of this item has surfaced.

The UK bootleg LP CP-2 contains an announcement by Leonard Feather prior to the introduction by Sid Torin: "Greetings and modulations, friends. Today we're turning over our entire program to some recordings of a really wonderful modern jazz concert that took place last Christmas night in Carnegie Hall. And since we have a lot of music to squeeze into the available time, let's turn over the proceedings immediately to the gentleman who was master of ceremonies at that concert, one of America's most popular disk jockeys, Symphony Sid..." (0:24). I'm grateful to Wasaburo Miura for sharing this record with me.