Bird (1988)

[Joel]

I'm interested at the soundtrack of this movie, Bird (1988) a movie about the life of Charlie Parker....and its on sale at our local Borders.

Is the soundtrack worth it? I may also try and find the movie later though I doubt it if I could.

thanks.

[Dan Gould]

Joel
You should know that this soundtrack took a unique approach. They took original recordings of Parker, stripped out the accompaniment and then re-recorded with new accompaniment. Ron Carter, Ray Brown and John Faddis are among the present-day players who are digitally wed with Parker.

I had it, back in the day and did not keep it, but that was a time when I was much quicker on the trigger to sell or trade CDs.

[Joel]

Dan,

Do you have ESP?:D you gave me the answer that I was after though I didnt really gave a detailed question?

Yes I've read about it in regards to who they
"eliminated" the "sidemen", if you can still recall, did it turn out right?

anyway I might just get it before anybody finds that lone copy.

[Dan Gould]

Joel, if the price is right I would definitely pick it up, because I'd want to revisit it and give it another chance. Its been so long I honestly can't recall. Since I sold it, I am sure it didn't hold its appeal back then but who knows? Maybe Parker's genius was just too overwhelming for my then-new ears to handle ...

By the way, I say that assuming that your Parker collection is otherwise in good shape.

[Joel]

actually is anorexic, I have to build it up some more along with my Coltranes.

Box sets however are beyond my budget and would rather pick an few albums and move on to another legendary artists,that way I have a few from several artists rather than a box load from one.

[Dan Gould]

Joel, then I would definitely recommend the recent Verve comps. I'm pretty sure they put out "best of" discs of the bigger boxes, I think those would be a better way to get some primo Bird then this soundtrack.

[Claude]

In my view this soundtrack only makes sense in the context of the movie. An original Bird recording would simply have sounded too old from the sound quality point of view to fit the live scenes in the movie.

But without the picture, the music completely disintegrates. Bird's saxophone sounds extremely "small" compared to the rhythm section, as if they had placed a sax player in a phone booth in the studio. In the movie this is much less noticable, because one concentrates on the picture.

So I would recommend ANY original Bird recording over the BIRD soundtrack. I know people who discovered Charlie Parker through the movie and bought the soundtrack, thinking they would get a sort of "best of". They were all disppointed, but liked the original Savoy, Dial and Verve sessions that I recommended them.

[PDEE]

I would look on this as a bit of a novelty item, and invest in more of the true Bird recordings.

You might want to note however that in Ben Sidrans book Talking Jazz, he interviews Red Rodney, who states that playing with Bird in this context was a little weird ( can't remember the exact quote, but the musicians involved loved the experience of playing with Bird.. I suspect that the experience was not anywhere near the real thing though.. in that setting, the movie soubdtrack, they knew exactly what Bird was going to play.

[JSngry]

If you've ever wondered what John Guerin would have sounded like playing w/Bird, then this is the album for you.

[dave9199]

Does anyone have the doc called Celebrating Bird? I'd like to get a vhs copy.

[Brad]

Dave,

There are 2 VHS copies currently on ebay. As far as the soundtrack goes, I was home last week recovering from some back problems and it was on Encore and saw parts of it again. I didn't like the sound of it, but that's the Bird in me. And frankly when I remember the soundtrack, I remember the movie, which is dreary and doesn't celebrate his music but points out his difficult life. So, being a Bird fanatic, I'd pass on it. I'd try to pick up the complete dial and savoy. If you don't want to spend that much, there's a lot of knockoffs on ebay, and I'm sure the sound is probably decent.

[JSngry]

Originally posted by dave9199
Does anyone have the doc called Celebrating Bird? I'd like to get a vhs copy.

It's good, not great. Really good, actually, just not great. But given the paucity of Bird footage, it might have been as good as it could have been. Worth having if your expectations aren't too high and/or you don't know the "usual facts" about Bird.

[Brad]

Jim,

After seeing that this is available, can you elaborate on your last statement about "expectations" not being too high or if you don't know the usual facts. I'd like to get it but not if it's worthwhile.

[JSngry]

Originally posted by JSngry


It's good, not great. Really good, actually, just not great. But given the paucity of Bird footage, it might have been as good as it could have been. Worth having if your expectations aren't too high and/or you don't know the "usual facts" about Bird.

Well, when I got a chance to finally see this, I had already done a lot of research into Bird, and had actually read the book that was released in conjunction with it, so there were no real revelations to be had for me. Still, it's nice to see the (then)live people behind the names you've heard for so long, and the footage from the Earl Wilson show isn't readily available (that I know of).

So, even if you HAVE done your Bird 101 homework, it's still enjoyable, and if you HAVEN'T, well, it's probably better than that.

[lazy bird]

Originally posted by Dan Gould
Joel, then I would definitely recommend the recent Verve comps. I'm pretty sure they put out "best of" discs of the bigger boxes, I think those would be a better way to get some primo Bird then this soundtrack.

highly recommanded Parker cd's:

The Quintet / Jazz at Massey Hall (1 cd / mid-price)
Charlie Parker / Savoy master takes ( 2 cd-set)
Charlie Parker / Dial Masters (2 cd-set)

This 5 cd's are the real quintessential Parker! Parker's recordings for the Verve label from the 1950's remain his most well known, but don't match the quality of his 1940's output for the smaller 'Savoy' and 'Dial' labels. Jazz at Massey hall is a supurb live recording with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Charles Mingus and Bud Powell. highly recommended!

[Finger Poppin']

When the movie came out, most the original musicans who were removed from the soundtrack were still alive. I wonder what they felt about that happening to them?

[3pointdeli]

in order for the movie to give the illusion that you're actually AT a charlie parker concert the music had to be as crisp sounding as it was when it was first played. using old recordings probably would have ruined that illusion and would have been a constant reminder that you're in a movie theater and not in a smoky club. (movie makers want you to forget you're watching a movie and make you feel like you're actually experienceing something.) i'm sure there were some hurt feelings, possibly even resentment, but that's the way hollywood works.

[Finger Poppin']

Originally posted by 3pointdeli
in order for the movie to give the illusion that you're actually AT a charlie parker concert the music had to be as crisp sounding as it was when it was first played. using old recordings probably would have ruined that illusion and would have been a constant reminder that you're in a movie theater and not in a smoky club. (movie makers want you to forget you're watching a movie and make you feel like you're actually experienceing something.) i'm sure there were some hurt feelings, possibly even resentment, but that's the way hollywood works.
I know this was the reason, but for all those not schooled in Jazz will mostly never know what the original sounded like. And most of the Hollywood big wigs won't know either.

[3pointdeli]

unfortunately that's just the way of the world, fp. most people are un-hip.

[Late]

There's