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Charlie Parker opens the solo section on alto sax, stretching out for two choruses at approximately 79 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 12-bar Blues form and the key of B♭, the solo allows for nuanced, expressive phrasing. As the first voice heard after the head, Parker sets the improvisational tone before passing to John Lewis. Every note seems inevitable yet surprising, with Parker constructing a narrative of extraordinary emotional depth and structural coherence. Bird improvised this blues. Vocalese lyrics were later written and recorded by King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson in 1953 and 1962 respectively.
Charlie Parker was 27 to 28 years old at the time.
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