Imitating Charlie Parker

Thank you very much and, uh, good evening, and thank you for coming to our concert
We're revisiting the, uh, music of Charlie Parker With Strings and more
We’ll be doing some, uh, songs that Charlie Parker didn't record
We'll be doing a couple of originals
I remember when Charlie Parker first made this record
Uh, some of the journalists, and uh, pundits, and the experts of jazz said
"All Charlie Parker is doing is playing the melody"
Well, ladies and gentlemen, the melody is probably the most difficult thing to play
You know, to properly delineate the, uh, harmonic and the lyric intent, and, uh
To play the song with feeling, and, uh
That’s why I love the, uh, Charlie Parker With Strings
And that's when, uh
The majority of us sittin' here all suggested that we do this concert, uh
I was all, I was all for it and, uh
I did most of the arrangements, I transcribed the, most of the Charlie Parker stuff
And we'll be doing a couple of originals that I've done up especially for this occasion, um

A lot of us young alto players that were around at the time, um
Were accused of copying Charlie Parker
I remember my good friend Gene Quill
He was working at a place called, uh, Birdland
And he just, with the, with the Johnny Richards Orchestra, I believe
And he just played a wonderful wonderful solo
And as he came off the bandstand and he passed by the table
Right, right near the, uh, bandstand
He heard this, this voice say "Gene Quill
All you're doing is imitating Charlie Parker", and he said
"Here, you imitate Charlie Parker"
Um, it's not so easy
Anyway, in line with the, um