Nora Germain
Voice Solo on
Yardbird Suite

About

Nora Germain's one-chorus vocal improvisation is the second and final solo on this bonus-track performance of Charlie Parker's classic. Following Miles Jensen's guitar chorus, Germain scats through the 32-bar AABA form at 220 BPM in C, demonstrating her versatility beyond the violin that dominates the rest of the album. Her confident navigation of Parker's sophisticated changes reveals a deep internalization of the bebop language, and the decision to perform this material vocally rather than on her primary instrument adds a surprising dimension to the album's closing moments. The tune is a contrafact based on the chord changes of "Rosetta."

Nora Germain was 32 to 33 years old at the time.