Jazz & Poetry: BIRD. The Charlie Parker Legend - Daniela Baumeister & Jan Prax Quartet

An evening painting a fascinating portrait of the jazz scene in New York during the 1940s and 1950s, and of the brilliant saxophonist Charlie "BIRD" Parker, pioneer of bebop. His life consisted of music, sex, and drugs. It ended tragically and far too soon. From the memories of people who knew him well - record label managers, club owners, women, musicians, neighbors, and friends - a "reconstruction" of his extraordinary life has emerged.

The Jazz & Poetry program "BIRD" traces his development, his music, and his eccentricities through short, gripping texts read by Daniela Baumeister (editor at hr2 Kultur). Interspersed with these texts, the "Jan Prax Quartet" performs bebop pieces by Charlie Parker and his contemporaries in contemporary arrangements. This program is a tribute to one of jazz's greatest musicians and to a brilliantly unconventional human being. His influence on the development of jazz to this day is immeasurable.

Featuring: Daniela Baumeister (narrator), Jan Prax (alto saxophone), Manuel Seng (piano), Florian Werther (bass), and Axel Pape (drums).

In collaboration with Jazz-Initiative Frankfurt.