Charlie Chan is an original composition by tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, written as an homage to Charlie Parker. The tune is a contrafact based on the chord changes of Miles Davis's 1947 composition Milestones, a piece on which Parker himself played tenor saxophone. First recorded in November 1999, Charlie Chan appears on Lovano's album 52nd Street Themes, released on Blue Note Records in 2000. The composition is a swing tune in C major cast in AABA form, performed at a brisk tempo around 224 to 234 beats per minute that encourages propulsive bebop soloing. On the original recording, Lovano engages in spirited three-tenor conversation with Ralph Lalama and George Garzone, supported by Lewis Nash on drums, in a nonet arrangement charted by Willie Face Smith. The album as a whole represents Lovano's explicit tribute to the bebop tradition, unifying influences from Tadd Dameron, Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk with his own compositional voice. Charlie Chan remains a deep cut in Lovano's catalog rather than a widely performed standard, though sheet music has been made commercially available. On AllSolos, the tune is featured through a performance from Emmet Cohen's Live From Emmet's Place Vol. 56, with solos from Cohen on piano, Lovano on tenor saxophone, and Kyle Poole on drums.
