Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Music Column with William Price King -#Jazz – Ted Nash – Saxophonist and Composer – Portraits in Seven Shades

Welcome to the music column with William Price King and this week the featured artist is Ted Nash, Saxophonist and Composer  and his work Portrait in Seven Shades.

About Ted Nash courtesy of Ted Nash Website

Born in Los Angeles into a musical family (his father, Dick Nash, and uncle, the late Ted Nash, were both well-known jazz and studio musicians), Nash has that uncanny ability to mix freedom with substance, blues with intellect, and risk-taking with clarity. He is a co-founder of the New York-based Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, non-profit innovative entity dedicated to presenting the original works of composers pushing the boundaries of their self-expression. Nash is also a long-standing member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis.

Nash has become one of the most significant jazz composers of the 21st century. His recordings have received wide critical acclaim, appearing on the “best-of” lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Village Voice, and The Boston Globe. Portrait in Seven Shades, his first big band recording, garnered two Grammy nominations. His following big band album, Chakra, received critical acclaim and charted on Billboard. Jazz Times Magazine on Chakra:

A lover of film and television scores as well as symphonic works and big-band jazz, Nash turns what could have been an esoteric, new-agey affair into music that swings and pops with tension and release as much as it beguiles.

Receiving two Grammy® Awards, Presidential Suite is Nash’s most significant work. Inspired by great political speeches of the 20th century dealing with the theme of freedom, it is rich with social and political awareness. It also involved a very creative approach; Nash transcribed the speeches for their actual musical pitches and created themes, placing them into contexts that embraced the speakers and the location and era of the speeches. For the recording, each track is introduced by an excerpt from the speech that inspired it, read by significant figures from the world of entertainment, politics and sports, including actors Glenn Close and Sam Waterston; Ambassador Andrew Young; Senator Joe Lieberman; authors Deepak Chopra and Douglas Brinkley; diplomats William vanden Heuvel and David Miliband.

You’ve learned how to make your instrument beautifully sing. You ‘slap’ the listener in the face with your daring and the unexpected (creating vital anticipation) at one moment, then later sooth it with even more precious, deeper feelings of the heart. Bravo!!!Benny Golson

About Portrait in Seven Shades courtesy of Wynton Marsalis

Portrait in Seven Shades, performed by the word-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and composed by JLCO reedman Ted Nash. Nash s suite consists of seven movements, each inspired by a master of modern art who worked in the century around the apex of jazz; Chagall, Dali, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Pollock and Van Gogh. The recording also features special guest musicians Nathalie Bonin (violin), Wycliffe Gordon (tuba), and Bill Schimmel (accordion). The writer Will Friedwald said Music is like painting in time, painting is like music in space. Portrait in Seven Shades illustrates this point masterfully.

Chagall

This piece is inspired by two of Chagall’s iconic works: “I and the Village (1911) and Calvary (1912) “ and by costume designs and renderings Chagall created for the character of Zemphira, a gypsy from the ballet Aleko.

“Chagall” opens with an accordion on a short cadenza.* The theme is played by the clarinet and by the violin – an instrument that appeared often as a subject in his paintings, like a muse. The movement ends with a klezmer*- styled romp in celebration of the artist and his heritage.

*Klezmer-style – Originally, the word “klezmer,” from the Yiddish language, meant ‘vessel of song’ and later, simply ‘musician.’ However, it has come to characterize the style of secular music played by Ashkenazi Jews for joyful celebrations.

*Cadenza – In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a “free” rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display. During this time the accompaniment will rest, or sustain a note or chord.

Dali

Nash’s motivation for this piece comes from Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” which depicts a barren landscape populated by melting clocks. This surreal scene is what inspired Nash to develop the time signature 13/8, a time signature which is quite unusual. An ostinato bass line opens this composition and the persistent drum groove exposes the aggressive quality of Dali’s painting. There are many intricate melodic patterns flowing over the beat and it culminates with flamenco – style claps coming from the band, paying tribute to Dalí’s Spanish heritage.

Van Gogh

To compose this piece, Nash had many references from which to choose, but there was one in particular which stood out and that is “The Starry Night “,  the view of the night sky from Van Gogh’s sanitarium which he painted from memory. This composition features the wistful, melancholic playing of Wynton Marsalis who expresses, with his trumpet, the broad strokes and textures that one finds in Van Gogh’s paintings. Marsalis’ solo ends with an allusion to “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out”, a blues standard popularized by Bessie Smith. This is also the first composition in which Nash wrote his own lyrics, interpreted by Vincent Gardner.

Picasso

Nash thought of Picasso as the Miles Davis of the art world. Picasso was responsible for analytical and synthetic cubism whereas Miles pioneered bebop and modal jazz, becoming more daring in the development of fusion just like Picasso dared to overturn established conventions. This piece, inspired by “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”, is divided into two movements and expresses Picasso’s romantic and emotional side as well as his intellectual side – cubism. To do this Nash explored the idea of fourths* (four sides to a square – cubism) with four tonal centers, though its root is in the standard flamenco key, which is E major.

*Fourths – A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth is the fourth spanning five semitones.

Matisse

Nash, inspired by “Dance “, set out to express the joyful childlike-quality and playfulness which he found apparent in Matisse’s paintings and in particular this one. Unlike Picasso who became more sophisticated in his art, Nash found that Matisse, a master of color, had a quirkiness in his works and was more simple. Nash compares Matisse’s non-conformity to that of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk and was inspired by Monk’s rhythmic quirkiness when he approached this composition. Matisse wrote, “I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces in me”. That’s about how Nash felt when he composed this piece.

Buy Ted Nash Music: Amazon

Additional sources: https://tednash.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tedrnash

About William Price King

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

His debut jazz album was entitled “Home,” and was a collection of contemporary compositions he composed, with lyrics written by his wife Jeanne King. His second album was a Duo (Voice and Guitar) with Eric Sempé on the guitar. This album included original songs as well as well known standards from contemporary jazz and pop artists. The “King-Sempé” duo toured France and thrilled audiences for more than three years before going their separate ways. King has formed a new duo with French/Greek guitarist Manolis, and is now exploring new ideas, in a smooth jazz/soul/folk direction.

In addition to singing and composing, King has been collaborating with author Sally Cronin over the past few years on her blog “Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life,” with the series “A Man And His Music – Jazz, Contemporary, Classical, and Legends” and now, the “William Price King Music Column.” Working with author Sally Cronin has been an exhilarating experience in many ways and has brought a new dimension to King’s creative life. King has also created a micro blog, “Improvisation,” which features and introduces mostly jazz artists from across the jazz spectrum who have made considerable contributions in the world of jazz; and also artwork from painters who have made their mark in the world of art. This micro blog can be found on Tumblr.

His vocal mentors are two of the greatest giants in jazz, Nat King Cole and Mel Tormé. King has a distinctive wide-ranging voice which displays a remarkable technical facility and emotional depth.

William Price King on Tumblr – IMPROVISATION – https://williampriceking.tumblr.com

Connect with William

Website – http://www.williampriceking.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPriceKing
Twitter – https://twitter.com/wpkofficial
Regular Venue – http://cave-wilson.com/ 
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/william-price-king/id788678484

You can find all of the Music Column series in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-music-column/

As always we would love to receive your feedback.. thanks Sally and William

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Food and Cookery Column with Carol Taylor – #Winter Warmers- #Stews and Casseroles

Winter Warmers. Stews and Casseroles.

While I am basking in the sun as our high season is nearly here I know many of you are in the throes of some severe weather conditions minus a lot according to friends…

If I could bottle some of the warmth I would but even I can’t do that so the next best thing is one pot stews and casseroles something you can do in the slow cooker and come home to that lovely aroma or leave simmering on the stove or in the oven…

Comfort food at its best and warmest and not with chilli well maybe one or two…ha-ha

A lovely one-pot Beef Bourguignon which is also really easy to double up if you are having guests just make sure you lengthen the cooking time.

One of the first dishes that I cooked my husband some 40 odd years ago was Beef Bourguignon…He was a man who ate only meat and two vegetables and did not like garlic???

Well…he ate it! I didn’t tell him what was in it apart from Beef and Red Wine…

When he asked after saying” That was really good” and I said Beef, garlic, red wine etc….

” But I don’t like garlic”

He now eats this dish at every opportunity and often asks me to make it!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Beef…I use good braising steak. Cut into cubes.
• 3/4 rashers smoked bacon cut in 1/4 pieces.
• 250gm button mushrooms…small as I use whole.
• 10-15 small onions/shallots used whole.
• 3/4 pint good beef stock.
• Half bottle red wine……..I use a Shiraz.
• 2/3 bay leaves.
• 4 large cloves garlic chopped not too fine.
• 2 tbsp flour for the roux. plus extra flour to coat beef.
• 2 tbsp Good Olive Oil.

Let’s Cook!

• Toss the cubed beef in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Heat some oil in large pan over med heat seal cubed beef in batches.
• Once all beef is sealed then set to one side.
• In the same pan add a little drop of oil and cook bacon and garlic until bacon cooked nicely just slightly crispy.
• Add Beef and stir in 2 tbsp flour.
• Then add beef stock and stir until smooth gravy. It’s like making a roux.
• Add Bay leaves and Red wine bring to slow boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 1/2 hrs until meat is tender. Depending on your cut of meat it may take a little longer.
• About 30 minutes before the end of cooking add button onions and 15 mins before add button mushrooms.
• Taste and adjust seasoning it may need more pepper. Again it is personal taste.

This can be served with mashed potatoes and vegetables or rice and vegetables even noodles go well with dish.

I hope you enjoy!

If you are working then just put the beef in the slow cooker and add the button mushrooms and onions when you come home…

Lamb Stew

One of our favourites as a child was my mum’s lamb stew she used neck of lamb or something she called scrag of lamb with onions, carrots, turnips, barley, butter beans then cooked low and slow she never added any gravy browning it was what we called white gravy just seasoned with salt and pepper…Then dumplings added near the end of cooking and served with greens…Plain simple cooking but delicious.

That is the wonder of a stew anything can go in…

Rabbit stew was also a favourite and cooked more or less the same as her lamb stew but had brown gravy…The rabbits were ones (shhhh0 which were poached as my mum wouldn’t buy a ready skinned rabbit as she said it might have been a cat…I wonder where I get my suspicious nature from….ha-ha and then there was the Myxomatosis scare so that was the end of our rabbit stew for years.

This recipe was given to me by a good friend when I lived in Phuket and it is a lovely Chicken and Potato stew which originated many moons ago in Columbia and it is now a well-known national dish called Ajaico… A Colombian Chicken Soup.

When the gales are blowing and it is a snowy, blustery winters night when the wind chill goes right down to your toes and even your wee freezes then this is just what you need.

She told me that her grandmother used to keep a pot simmering on her stove ready for when any cold mortal came to her door…It sounds to me a little like she was a welcome port in the snow storm.

I can just picture her granny standing in her kitchen serving up these luscious bowls of hot stew.

Traditionally served with thinly slice avocados, sour cream, chopped coriander and capers…..I am now salivating as I type…

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs of chicken pieces, skin on and on the bone.
• 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes……mixed varieties maybe 3 different ones.
• 2-3 Corn cut crosswise into quarters or 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn.
• 1 large brown Onion chopped roughly.
• 5 cloves of garlic roughly cut.
• 4 cups of good chicken stock…I cook up chicken carcases.
• 1 tsp of coarse salt…I use Himalayan.
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper.
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil.
• I bunch of coriander…tied.
• 1 bunch of spring Onions (green onions) …tied.
• 2tbsp dried guascas.
NB: Also known as Quick weed or Galinsoga in the US and Gallant Soldiers in the UK……It is a very prolific edible weed.

Or…You can use dried Oregano as a substitute.

Let’s Cook!

• Marinade your chicken pieces with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper in the fridge for 8-24 hrs.
• When ready to cook heat olive Oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the chicken and all the marinade bits. Brown the chicken on both sides about 6 minutes.
• Pour the stock into the pan and raise the heat to bring to the boil, turn down and cook at a rolling simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove chicken from the pan and when it is cool enough to handle remove skin and bones.
• Cut or tear the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• Put the potatoes in the cooking liquid and cook for 5 minutes.
• Then add the corn, tied spring onions, coriander and quascas (oregano). Cover pan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.
• Remove coriander and onions and return chicken to the pot and warm through.

Serve soup in individual bowls with the prepared avocado, sour cream, coriander and capers as accompaniments.

Enjoy!

Stews and casseroles can contain anything you like …Rosemary, thyme, bay leaves are some of the herbs that go well in a stew or casserole. Beans and lentils help to bulk it out and have lots of fibre, lovely root vegetables. You can also add beer, wine, cider which all marry well. What is your favourite combo…?

Chicken Chasseur is a lovely dish which is simply chicken cooked in white wine.

Ingredients:

• 8 skinned and boned chicken thighs/legs or as I do I remove the bone near the end of the cooking time.
• 4 large thyme sprigs picked
• 100 gm shallots about 3
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 200 ml fresh chicken stock
• 300 gm small chestnut mushrooms halved
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 carrot sliced
• 200 gm fresh chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp flat leafed parsley chopped

Let’s Cook

• Heat a deep, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and fry the chicken pieces until golden all over. Set aside.
• Add the rest of the oil, shallot, carrot and garlic to the pan. Fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly browned.
• Stir in the purée, cook for 1 minute, add the wine and stock, and bring to the boil.
• Return the chicken to the pan with the mushrooms, remaining thyme, bay leaves and some seasoning.
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover, stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
• Turn the chicken now and then, cooking until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced.

Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

If I am doing a posh chicken chasseur I do bone the thighs but we prefer chicken cooked on the bone as it has more taste…It is personal preference.

Lastly if you want a meat free stew…This lentil stew recipe was given to me by Darlene Foster and I made it for the first time last week… It is pure comfort food at its best and eaten with some lovely homemade flat bread it was lovely.

Yakhmat ‘Adas (from Syria and Lebanon)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lentils, rinsed
• 5 cups water
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup rice, rinsed
• 1/4 cup fine noodles
• 2 cups stewed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried crushed basil

Let’s Cook

Place lentils and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté onions over medium heat until they begin to brown. Stir in garlic and rice and stir-fry for another 3 minutes.

Add frying pan contents along with remaining ingredients, except basil, to lentils and bring to a boil. Cook another 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Enjoy!

Note from Darlene: I usually cut the recipe in half as it makes a lot. *Did you know that lentils are good for anaemia, low blood pressure and for ulcers? From my favourite cookbook, Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa by Habeeb Salloum.

Thank you, Darlene it was delicious I used really fine vermicelli noodles, fresh ginger as I grow my own and don’t use dried and Thai basil…It definitely makes a lot though I am pleased I halved the recipe on your advice xxx

My go-to flatbread recipe…

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water.
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 2 cups flour.
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder.
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp salt.

Let’s Cook!

• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Add liquids and mix thoroughly…I used my food processor and it took literally 2 mins…. if that and formed a ball. If it is too sticky add little more flour.
• Divide into 8 pieces. Flatten with the heel of the hand and roll out very thin.
• My first attempt at this and I didn’t roll mine out thin enough to start with.
• Heat pan and cook 2/3 minutes each side turn over with tongs or fish slice and done…

That’s all for this week if you are out in the ice and snow…Stay safe and upright and wrap up warm xx

My thanks to  Carol for the recipe for these delicious and warming stews.. something for all family.

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use have to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology:  https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

 You can find all of the previous posts in the directory – Carol Taylor Food Column

We would love to hear from you… perhaps you can share your favourite winter warmer? Thanks Sally

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Music Column with William Price King – #Jazz Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker #Saxaphone

Today William Price King shares the life and music of Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker. His name is very familiar to jazz lovers, but I had not idea that he was only thirty-four years old when he died. He certainly left an amazing legacy behind of unique and memorable music. I am sure that you will enjoy the music that William has selected to showcase this remarkable talent.

Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), also known as Yardbird and Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.  He  was a highly influential jazz soloist and a leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique and advanced harmonies.  Parker acquired the nickname “Yardbird” early in his career on the road with Jay McShann. This, and the shortened form “Bird”, continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as “Yardbird Suite”, “Ornithology”, “Bird Gets the Worm”, and “Bird of Paradise”.

“Swingmatism”, recorded in 1942 by Charlie Parker, was written by William Scott. This piece, composed in F minor and modulates to its parallel major, is noted for its implied 12 – bar blues in a 16 – bar form. This structural ambiguity is highlighted both by the composer and Parker because whatever he played, and however complex it was, he always managed to make it swing (as you will hear in this piece), illustrating how a good ‘swing’ rhythm section can play bebop and make it fit. Parker’s tone on the alto sax was clipped, light, skittering – actually more like solo piano than other saxophone players of the time.

Charles Parker was born in Kansas City to Charles and Adelaide Parker, Her was raised there and then Westport. His father was a pianist, dancer and singer on the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s and when home provided the early musical influence for Charlie.After a year in high school he left to join the local musicians’ union and to pursue his music career full time. He had begun to play saxophone at the age of 11 and joined his high school band at 14, with an alto saxophone which was a gift from his mother.  This led to Charlie meeting a young trombone player called Robert Simpson who taught him improvisation.

“Yardbird Suite”,* composed by Charlie Parker in 1946, is a bebop standard. The title comes from Parker’s nickname ‘Bird.’ This piece is not a suite, rather, it follows an AABA* form. Charlie Parker was fascinated by Igor Stravinsky, the classical composer. In Carl Woideck’s book “Charlie Parker: His Music and Life” he states that ‘although Parker generally tended to only write new melodies over pre-existent forms, “Yardbird Suite” whose title is a pun on the piece “Firebird Suite” by Stravinsky, is a wholly original composition in both melody and chord progression.’ You will hear that each note is articulated with focused energy, each phrase smoothly executed but infused with an acerbic aftertaste. Parker made the most radical innovations seem instantly understandable, masking both the bristling complexity of the musical language and the disciplined intellect behind it.”

*Suite – In music a suite is a collection of short musical pieces which can be played one after another. The pieces are usually dance movements.

*AABA – The AABA song form (a thirty-two-bar form) is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century.

Charlie was a dedicated musician despite being so young and in an interview he said he spent the first three to four years of his career practicing and mastering improvisation up to 15 hours a day. His other early influences included band leaders such as Count Basie and Bennie Moten. As he played with local bands around Kansas City, he continued to perfect his technique with the help of Buster Smith, whose dynamic transitions to double and triple time helped develop Charlie Parker’s unique style.

In 1936 when on the road with a band to play in Missouri, the cars carrying the musicians were involved in a serious accident resulting in Charlie breaking three ribs and fracturing his spine. This led to a lifetime struggle with painkillers and opioids. Despite the accident, Charlie continued to play and in 1938 joined Jay McShann’s band which toured nightclubs in the southwest including Chicago and New York and it led to Charlie’s first recording.

“Now’s The Time” was first recorded in 1945 by Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Curley Russell, and Max Roach. This is a riff* – based blues. Parker drew on his Kansas City jazz roots to craft this simple, bluesy composition. It goes without saying that Parker is at the helm here. His beautiful, soulful tone and his technical expertise are out of this world. The melody of “Now’s the Time” was used for the recording ‘The Hucklebuck,’ which became a hit for saxophonist Paul Williams four years after Parker’s original recording. Despite being released by the same record label and the same producer, Parker was not given credit; instead, the composition was attributed to Andy Gibson, who recorded it as ‘D-Natural Blues.’

Riff – a short rhythm phrase, an ostinato, a repeated chord progression or melody used in music that is often played when a soloist is performing or when chords and harmonies are changing.

In 1939 Charlie moved to New York City to pursue his career but also had to work other jobs to pay the rent. However, this was to be a pivotal moment in his musical career as he played with the established musicians in New York, and he returned to Kansas City in 1940 bringing this new sound with him. He would later state in an interview in the 1950s, how one night in 1939 he was playing “Cherokee” in a jam session with guitarist William “Biddy” Fleet when he hit upon a method for developing his solos that enabled one of his main musical innovations. He realized that the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale can lead melodically to any key, breaking some of the confines of simpler jazz soloing.

Early in the development of bebop, this new type of jazz was rejected by many of the established, traditional jazz musicians who disdained their younger counterparts. The beboppers responded by calling these traditionalists “moldy figs”. However, some musicians, such as Coleman Hawkins and Tatum, were more positive about its development, and participated in jam sessions and recording dates in the new approach with its adherents

He rejoined Jay McShann’s band and played some prominent gigs in the summer 1940 before embarking on a tour of the region. In 1942 Charlie left the band and played for a year with Earl Hines whose band also included Dizzy Gillespie, who would go on to play with Charlie as a duo. Few professional recordings were made during the musicians’ strike of 1942-1943 by the American Federation of Musicians, but Charlie Parker joined other young musicians and played in after-hours clubs in Harlem. These included Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk and drummer Kenny Clarke.

“Moose the Mooche” was, supposedly, named after Parker’s drug dealer, Emry ‘Moose the Mooche,’ who dealt him drugs for years. This composition is in the key of B-flat, with a 32-bar AABA structure. The chord progression is based on the George Gershwin piece “I Got Rhythm”. It was recorded in Los Angeles for Dial Records in 1946 as the Charlie Parker Septet with Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, Dodo Marmarosa, Vic McMillan, Arvin Garrison and Roy Porter.

Because of the two-year Musicians’ Union ban of all commercial recordings from 1942 to 1944, much of bebop’s early development was not recorded. As a result, it gained limited radio exposure. It was not until 1945, when the recording ban was lifted, that Parker’s collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and others had a substantial effect on the jazz world. Bebop soon gained wider appeal among musicians and fans alike.
Charlie Parker with Strings

A longstanding desire of Parker’s was to perform with a string section. He was a keen student of classical music, and contemporaries reported he was most interested in the music and formal innovations of Igor Stravinsky and longed to engage in a project akin to what later became known as Third Stream, a new kind of music, incorporating both jazz and classical elements as opposed to merely incorporating a string section into performance of jazz standards. On November 30, 1949, Norman Granz arranged for Parker to record an album of ballads with a mixed group of jazz and chamber orchestra musicians. Six master takes from this session became the album Charlie Parker with Strings: “Just Friends”, “Everything Happens to Me”, “April in Paris”, “Summertime”, “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”, and “If I Should Lose You”.

Parker died on March 12, 1955. The official causes of death were lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, but Parker also had an advanced case of cirrhosis and had suffered a heart attack. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker’s 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age.

“Ornithology” was composed by Charlie Parker and Benny Harris. The title of this piece is in reference to Parker’s nickname ‘Bird’ – ornithology is the study of birds. This piece was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989. “Ornithology” is a contrafact, a newly created melody written on the chord progression of another song, in this case from “How High The Moon”. Back in those days, jazz musicians could create new pieces for performance by using pre-existing chord progressions on which they could improvise without seeking permission or pay publishers for copyright materials.

Buy the music of Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker: https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Parker/e/B000APVGYY

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Parker

About William Price King

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

His debut jazz album was entitled “Home,” and was a collection of contemporary compositions he composed, with lyrics written by his wife Jeanne King. His second album was a Duo (Voice and Guitar) with Eric Sempé on the guitar. This album included original songs as well as well known standards from contemporary jazz and pop artists. The “King-Sempé” duo toured France and thrilled audiences for more than three years before going their separate ways. King has formed a new duo with French/Greek guitarist Manolis, and is now exploring new ideas, in a smooth jazz/soul/folk direction.

In addition to singing and composing, King has been collaborating with author Sally Cronin over the past few years on her blog “Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life,” with the series “A Man And His Music – Jazz, Contemporary, Classical, and Legends” and now, the “William Price King Music Column.” Working with author Sally Cronin has been an exhilarating experience in many ways and has brought a new dimension to King’s creative life. King has also created a micro blog, “Improvisation,” which features and introduces mostly jazz artists from across the jazz spectrum who have made considerable contributions in the world of jazz; and also artwork from painters who have made their mark in the world of art. This micro blog can be found on Tumblr.

His vocal mentors are two of the greatest giants in jazz, Nat King Cole and Mel Tormé. King has a distinctive wide-ranging voice which displays a remarkable technical facility and emotional depth.

William Price King on Tumblr – IMPROVISATION – https://williampriceking.tumblr.com

Connect with William

Website – http://www.williampriceking.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPriceKing
Twitter – https://twitter.com/wpkofficial
Regular Venue – http://cave-wilson.com/ 
ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/william-price-king/id788678484

You can find all of the Music Column series in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/william-price-king-music-column/

As always we would love to receive your feedback.. thanks Sally and William

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Travel Column – Jerome, Arizona – #Mining town with D.G. Kaye

Welcome to this edition of the Travel Blog. As I am still on vacation but didn’t want leave anyone without a travel post in my absence, today Sally is reblogging one of my older posts I wrote about visiting Jerome, Arizona. I visited Jerome 2 winters ago and found it was like walking into an old story book town. I hope you enjoy it! Stay tuned for my March post when I’ll be writing about my current vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! Originally posted D. G. Kaye February 2016

JEROME, ARIZONA with D.G. Kaye

Jerome, Arizona is an old mining town, population of a meager 450 people, but it wasn’t always so lightly populated. It’s approximately a 2 hour drive northwest of Scottsdale in the Verde Valley. The tourist map recommends it as a must-see place to visit.

My husband and brother-in-law are fascinated with anything cowboy, so we decided to take a little road trip up there, one warm, but mostly overcast, cloudy day.

Jerome sits up on a cliff known as Cleopatra Hill. The elevation is 5300 feet. It was a lot colder up there than where we’d come from in Scottsdale. I can tell you that the one lane up and one down the mountain was a pretty narrow ride with barely a guard rail or lights. I remarked how I’d be scared to drive in or out of Jerome at night or in the rain, or worse, the snow.

A Brief History:

In the 1880s, Jerome was a billion dollar mining town full of ore. For 70 years, the two copper mines made hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. The town was named after a New York Lawyer, Eugene Jerome who formed the United Verde Copper Company.

By 1920 the population began to rise to 15,000. It hosted saloons, hotels and the town brothel, and of course a county jail. Through the years, many buildings had burned down from the two fires of 1894 and 1899, but were rebuilt.

The mines yielded millions of tons of copper, silver and gold. In 1938, an underground blast rocked Jerome’s foundation and much of the business district slid down the hillside 225 feet – most notably, the county jail. This event was the beginning of the downfall of Jerome, resulting in its becoming a ghost town.

With the depression and the advent of World War II, and fluctuating copper prices, the mines finally closed in 1953. By then, the remainder of the townspeople left, leaving a mere 50 people residing in Jerome.

Through the later decades, Jerome was rediscovered by artists who moved there for its magnificent views and cheap real estate. Now there are galleries, a few restaurants and gift shops and a few bed and breakfasts which are said to be haunted.

My Observations:

The town is quite small and doesn’t appear that much has been updated in decades.

There are a few updated bar/restaurants, and now ‘family’ saloons. The town brothel had been turned first into a restaurant, and has since become a store named ‘House of Joy’, carrying nostalgic items from the days of its original ill repute, full of girlie photos, flapper hats, pins and badges from earlier wars, and some old signs.

But what I found most interesting in there was a table with small cardboard boxes, each filled with coins representing various states’ brothels in the mid and southwest.

These coins were what gentlemen would purchase when entering a brothel that gave them access to a lady for the evening. Each coin had engraved the brothel name and state where it was from, and every one of them had engraved on the flipside, “Good for one night.” One could purchase these coins of choice as a souvenir for $3.00. I couldn’t help but wonder how much they paid for the service when purchasing these coins back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

I wandered into some other gift shops and found items from natural stones to old signs to Tshirts, and found them all rather expensive compared to any other tourist place I’d been to in Arizona. I couldn’t believe that this tiny town with nothing more than a beautiful view and a bit of history charged such high prices for souvenirs. I didn’t see anyone walking around with bags.

I realize it’s now a small tourist town and everyone has to make a living, but it’s not like there’s a waiting list to get there. To me, these sky high prices were like ‘shooting yourself in the foot’ (a fitting phrase), by being a little more competitive, price-wise, I think that tourists like myself would have liked to pick up some souvenirs.

All in all it was an experience to go to Jerome and see a bit of this history. It felt strange being in that little store that was once a brothel and looking at some of the old hotels and remnants of burnt out buildings from the fires.

On the way back, I managed to capture some gorgeous sunset photos:

©D.G. Kaye

About D.G. Kaye

Quotes:
“Live Laugh Love . . . And Don’t Forget to Breathe!”

                 “For every kindness, there should be kindness in return. Wouldn’t that just make the world right?”

When I’m not writing, I’m reading or quite possibly looking after some mundane thing in life. It’s also possible I may be on a secret getaway trip, as that is my passion—traveling.

Books by D.G. Kaye

One of the recent reviews for Words We Carry.

Very insightful read. By Vashti Quiroz-Vega on September 16, 2018

Once in a while you come across a book that really speaks to you. Reading ‘Words We Carry’ by D. G. Kaye was like having friends over for coffee and revealing our innermost secrets or speaking to your mentor about life and how to make it better. The author, who has natural psychology opened my eyes and made me ponder why I react the way I do to certain things or certain people. I enjoyed author, D.G. Kaye’s writing style––so friendly and warm. This book is well written and is easily one that can change someone’s life. I recommend this book to anyone who ever felt insecure, self-conscious or inadequate. An easy 5 star read.

Read all the reviews and buy the books: http://www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7

and Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/D.G.-Kaye/e/B00HE028FO

More reviews and follow Debby on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/dgkaye

Connect to Debby Gies

Come and visit me at our Literary Diva’s Library group on Facebook

Blog: http://www.dgkayewriter.com
About me: http://www.wiseintro.co/dgkaye7
MeWe: mewe.com/i/debbygies
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@pokercubster (yes there’s a story)
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dgkaye7
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dgkaye
Google: http://www.google.com/+DebbyDGKayeGies
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dgkaye
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/dgkaye7

My thanks to Debby for sharing this historical and fascinating part of Arizona.. more from the intrepid traveller next month.. Please feel free to share your experiences, we would love to hear about them and your feedback. Thanks Sally