Charlie Parker
Alto Sax Solo on
Red Cross

About

Charlie Parker's alto saxophone solo is the first of three improvisations on this historically significant contrafact based on the chord changes of "I Got Rhythm." Taking one chorus of the 32-bar AABA form in B-flat at 208 BPM, Parker delivers a solo that stands as one of the earliest recorded examples of what would become a central practice of bebop: writing new melodies over existing chord changes. His one-chorus statement is characteristically inventive, each phrase advancing the harmonic language of jazz.

Charlie Parker was 23 to 24 years old at the time.