The story behind puzzle No. 61
Charlie Parker · Single · Dial · 1946
The title is a pun on Charlie Parker's nickname, Bird. The tune is bebop in miniature: a twisting new melody laid over the chords of a popular song.
Parker recorded Ornithology for Dial on March 28, 1946, with Miles Davis on trumpet, Lucky Thompson on tenor saxophone, Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Arvin Garrison on guitar, Vic McMillan on bass and Roy Porter on drums.
The same session also produced Moose the Mooche, Yardbird Suite and Parker's version of A Night in Tunisia. Ornithology was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989.
Ornithology is credited to Parker and trumpeter Benny Harris. It uses the chord changes of the standard How High the Moon with an entirely new melody on top.
Writing new tunes over familiar changes was a bebop habit, and Ornithology became one of the most popular and often played bebop tunes.
Listen to Parker and Davis play the fast, winding melody together, then hear Parker take off in his solo.
Notice how Parker's lines never land where you expect, yet always fit the chords underneath.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Hear Parker's roots in Hootie Blues (puzzle No. 49) and his blues writing in Now's the Time (puzzle No. 28).
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