Meandering is a composition by Charlie Parker, a contrafact built on the chord changes of George and Ira Gershwin's Embraceable You. It was recorded on November 26, 1945, at WOR Studios in New York for Savoy Records, during the same historic session that produced Ko-Ko, Billie's Bounce, Now's the Time, and Warmin' Up A Riff. The personnel included Dizzy Gillespie on piano and trumpet, Curly Russell on bass, and Max Roach on drums. Meandering was not part of the session's planned repertoire but was instead captured as an unplanned warm-up, a fact corroborated by pianist Sadik Hakim, who later recalled that the musicians did not know the performance was being recorded. The single surviving take features a full chorus of Parker's lyrical, harmonically sophisticated alto saxophone improvisation over the Embraceable You changes, followed by a Gillespie piano solo that is cut short at the fourteen-measure mark, likely because the recording exceeded the three-minute time limit of the 78 rpm format. The tune gained broader exposure after a fragment appeared in Ken Burns' Jazz documentary during the Charlie Parker segment. While the three formally planned compositions from the same date became foundational works in the bebop canon, Meandering remained a deep cut, appearing on compilations such as The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes and The Charlie Parker Story. Scholars and Parker enthusiasts regard it as a compelling example of Parker's artistry in an informal, unguarded setting.
