Charlie Parker
Alto Sax Solo on
Ornithology

About

Charlie Parker's alto saxophone solo is the first of three improvisations on this defining bebop composition, a contrafact based on the chord changes of "How High the Moon." Taking one chorus of the 32-bar ABAB' form in G at 223 BPM, Parker delivers a solo that captures the essence of his revolutionary approach. His one-chorus statement over this foundational contrafact is a model of the harmonic and rhythmic innovations that transformed jazz in the mid-1940s.

Charlie Parker was 25 to 26 years old at the time.