Bird is the Word and You’re Light as a Feather

Posted by Lance Davis - April 24, 2010 - Barney Hoskyns, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Los Angeles

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Another foray into ornithology and again featuring excerpts from Barney Hoskyns‘ Waiting For The Sun: A Rock ‘n’ Roll History of Los Angeles. Overall, it’s a solid reference book, but the first 50 or so pages are my favorite. Not enough is written about LA’s postwar music scene, so respect to Hoskyns for addressing not […]

If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger…

Posted by Lance Davis - April 20, 2010 - Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins

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…there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats.” —Charles Mingus Charlie Parker & Coleman Hawkins – Improvisation (1950) Charlie Parker – alto sax Coleman Hawkins – tenor sax Hank Jones – piano Ray Brown – bass Buddy Rich – drums Super-rare video of one of the 20th century’s greatest musicians, Charlie Parker. Coleman Hawkins […]

Clarence White and his Bluegrass Bebop: 1964-65

Posted by Lance Davis - July 22, 2008 - Charlie Parker, Clarence White, Django Reinhardt, Doc Watson, Joe Maphis, Kentucky Colonels

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My original plan was to focus solely on Clarence White as an electric guitarist, but it would be professionally remiss to sidestep his formidable acoustic guitar background. So, let’s take a brief tour through CW’s stint in the Kentucky Colonels before matriculating to his work on the Telecaster. Above all, this post and the several […]