Charlie Parker
Alto Sax Solo on
Warmin' Up A Riff

About

Charlie Parker's alto saxophone solo is the sole improvisation on this recording, a blistering contrafact on the chord changes of Cherokee. This whole track is Charlie Parker blowing over two choruses of Cherokee changes. Taking two choruses of the 64-bar AABA form in B-flat at 230 BPM, Parker delivers a solo of astonishing velocity and harmonic precision. Cherokee's complex harmonic framework, with its demanding bridge modulating through distant keys, was a vehicle Parker famously used to push the boundaries of improvisation, and this performance captures him in full flight over this challenging material.

Charlie Parker was 24 to 25 years old at the time.