Diversion. Deviation. Different.
I love Charlie Parker. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of Diz, Miles, Trane, Sonny, Chet, and Stan. There is a whole world of be-bop, cool, West Coast jazz that is intriguing and fascinating. But, for me, Charlie Parker stands out alone. His improvisations based on finding melodies within chord changes…Wait a minute! For a moment you’ll assume I know what I’m talking about.
I was introduced to Parker by, of all things, the 1988 movie “Bird” in which Forest Whitaker seemed to inhabit the man’s soul. Realizing it was directed by Clint Eastwood made it all the more fascinating. Sure, anyone and everyone can take issue with movie biographies, what they choose to show and what they choose to omit. But if the movie got me to listen to his music, then all of that is moot.
It was ten years after he had his musical breakthrough, his epiphany, that he recorded “Charlie Parker With Strings.” There was some criticism with the making of these tracks with purists feeling he was selling out. Producer Norman Granz at first didn’t want to proceed until Charlie persisted. To Parker, bridging the gap between jazz and classical music by taking inspiration from modern composers (Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich) was a natural progression.
Perhaps too many people were viewing Parker based on his lifestyle and couldn’t comprehend just how intelligent he was. The less-than-enthusiastic murmurings on the live tracks from Carnegie Hall are a testament to that. The recordings today are viewed as masterpieces. Lush, poetic, and romantic.
Why does an artist, of any kind, choose to go in an opposite direction, one that is antithetical to their existing style and talents? Is it a diversion based out of boredom? Could it be a deviation due to a belief there is something in that direction? Are they just trying to be different?
The answer is: It doesn’t matter. To put an artist into a finite set of circumstances, the proverbial box if you will, is to tamp down the creative energy that allows for the art to be made. While there may be “rules” of a sort to publishing and performing, the process, the craft is a flow, less like a river and more like air, the breeze in the sky. The artist goes where those impulses take them. It is not a guarantee of success, only of the continuing ability to be able to create.
If someone ever asks you, “Why do you want to do THAT?”, simply smile and head off in that direction. If you come back, you can tell them it was an interesting path. If you don’t come back, they were never meant to follow.
