RIP Sam Rivers

My Vinyls 3: Charlie Parker Memorial Part 2




I don't know how I got this one. It basically is a collection of Bird songs from 1944 to 1948, mostly with short failed takes released on the Savoy label. The playing is brilliant, not only by Bird but also by Bud Powell and a young ambitious trumpeter called Miles Davis. You can hear Parker whistle when something goes wrong to stop the band.

I had a tiring day at school. I suck at memorizing stuff, and had to sing by heart 2 Miles solos and even hours after the exam I was still singing them in my head. Came home and practiced a little bit and wanted to listen to some good music to ease my mind. This precious piece of bebop history did it well for me.

"Probably one of the most terrible feelings a human being can experience is regret. Especially the sort of regret that is not so much for what we did that was wrong, but rather for what we could have done (but didn't) that was right. The good thing about this feeling of regret is that, if we experience it often enough and deeply enough, we eventually see the importance of turning around our attitude and changing our life so that there would never be a reason for us to feel that way again in the future. If that happens, then regret has been useful to us. It has taught; we have learned. Regret consumes itself."

Mick Goodrick