Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson & Gary Bartz Collaborate to Release New Tribute Album “Bird at 100” on Nov. 29th, 2019

Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson, and Gary Bartz
Collaborate to Honor and Extol the Great Charlie Parker
in Anticipation of His 100th Birthday

Bird at 100, Due Out November 29
on Smoke Session Records

Album Celebrates the Centenary of the
Jazz Icon Live with Compositions Written or
Performed by Charlie Parker and Several Pieces
Penned in Tribute to His Enduring Legacy

August 29, 2020 will mark the centennial of one of jazz’s most iconic figures, Charlie Parker. The celebration gets off to a jubilantly swinging start with an alto saxophone summit bringing together three of modern jazz’s most acclaimed voices: Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson and Gary Bartz. Along with a superb rhythm section, the three distinctive altoists pay tribute to Parker’s legacy in the most apt fashion for this ground-breaking pioneer: by carrying his innovations forward in their own utterly singular styles.

Due out November 29 via Smoke Sessions Records, the soul-stirring Bird at 100 traces a direct lineage from Parker’s birthplace in Kansas City to the stage of Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, where these three influential acolytes look back from the vantage point of jazz in 2019, with a combination of reverence, respect and adventure. The program offers a buoyant mix of classic Parker tunes, familiar standards once recorded by Bird (and the generations since) and new compositions written in honor of the master.

Separated by roughly a decade apiece, Bartz, Watson and Herring represent three distinct points along that line linking Bird’s transformative approach through the evolution of music in his wake. Bartz was born just as Parker was making his mark in New York City, and thus grew up in a musical world indelibly marked by his unmistakable sound. Watson came into the world less than two years before Parker left it, mentored by first-generation bop giants like Art Blakey. And Herring was part of a movement that reimagined bebop for a wholly new generation, while maintaining a link with the source through such greats as Nat Adderley and Freddie Hubbard.

The three are ably backed on Bird at 100 by a rhythm section that has deeply imbibed the entire sweep of that history: pianist David Kikoski, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Carl Allen. All three are regular collaborators with Herring, thus bringing a well-established chemistry to this all-star outing.

“The influence of Charlie Parker is a constant thread that runs through all of us,” says Herring, who brainstormed the date. “It’s amazing how much Charlie Parker has touched so many different people in their pursuit of music. We certainly take in other influences as well, and of course we all hope to put our own stamp on it, but Bird is always there through his vocabulary and his way of interpreting of the music.”

Bartz feels the link to Parker in a direct way, he says. “I started playing [during] the era of bebop… Bird changed the whole landscape of the music with his virtuosity, his harmonic knowledge, and his musicality. To me, he’s like the modern-day Bach.”

For Watson, a fellow Kansas City native, Parker represents a laundry list of admirable qualities: “Triumph over adversity. Spontaneity. Creativity. Individualism. Originality.” Through this project, he continues, he aims to “try to extend his legacy in my own way. People like Bird, Duke Ellington and Monk all loved to hear people put different spins and interpret their music through their own voice. So I wanted to add my voice on the saxophone and add some different spins on his classic compositions and song forms.”


Photo Credit: Jimmy Katz

While all three profess their lifelong love of Charlie Parker, they also form a mutual admiration society for one another. “It was fascinating to hear the three different sounds of the alto,” Bartz says. “If you’re playing and it’s coming from your inside, then you won’t sound like anybody else. [Vincent and Bobby] each have their individual sound and concept of how the alto should sound.”

Watson declares the weekend’s performances full of “complete and utter joy and respect. And fun – maybe not in that order. Maybe fun first [laughs].”

For Herring, the most important message he hopes to convey through the music on Bird at 100 is one of deep respect for the artistry of Charlie Parker – something that can be lost in the more sensationalistic details often depicted in depictions of the troubled saxophonist.

“I want people to think of the music and not the distorted picture that’s often painted of Charlie Parker,” Herring says. “Here it is: his 100th birthday and we’re still celebrating and studying and being inspired by his music. There are a lot of great players but few innovators. Bird was a real innovator.”

“Bird at 100” was recorded live at Smoke Jazz Club, NYC on August 30 & 31 and September 1, 2019; mastered to ½” analog tape using a Studer mastering deck, and produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith.

Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson, Gary Bartz · Bird at 100
Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: November 29, 2019

DL Media

MORE News on T.U.M.S.!

R&B Singer Tony Walk to Release New Single "Tell Me You Want It" on April 5th, 2024
Mariah Carey Receives SoundExchange Hall of Fame Award
Gospel Singer Hezekiah Walker Set to Break Ground on East Brooklyn Affordable Housing Development
Music Legend Maurice White’s Final Recordings "Manifestation" Coming May 3rd, 2024 | WATCH NEW TRAIL...
Kevin Flournoy and Amanda Cole to Release New Track “To The Water” on April 5th, 2024 | LISTEN! New ...
Jazz/Funk Bassist Christian de Mesones to Release New Album “You Only Live Twice” on April 12th, 202...
The Bobby Broom Organi-Sation to Release New Live Project "Jamalot" on May 24th, 2024 | WATCH NEW VI...
Percussionist Eric Frazier to Release New Project "That Place, Featuring Return of The Panther Woman...
Gospel Singer Keri Fraser to Release New Single "You Are Holy" on March 29th, 2024
Nigel Hall & DJ Harrison to Release Tribute Album "The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of ...
Sierra Green & The Giants Releases New Single "Break in the Road" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Jazz Guitarist Adam Hawley Releases New Album "Unstoppable" | LISTEN! Announces New Tour Dates for 2...
Davido and Lila Iké Release New Single “Flex My Soul” | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Blue Note Records Announces New Run of Titles for Classic Vinyl Reissue Series
GRAMMY-Winning Musician Don Was Announces New Group Don Was and The Pan-Detroit Ensemble | WATCH NEW...
R&B Singer Devon Howard Releases New Album "Morning Son" | LISTEN!
Director P. Frank Williams Launches Multimedia Venture "For The Culture, By The Culture"
Sheila E. Releases New Single "Bemba Colorá" feat Gloria Estefan & Mimy Succar | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Funk/Soul-Jazz Group The New Mastersounds to Release New Album "Old School" on March 29th, 2024 | LI...
Singer Lawrence Rosenborough Releases New EP "Human Relations" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Soul-Blues Singer Sugaray Rayford to Release New Album "Human Decency" on June 14th, 2024 | LISTEN!
The Powerhouse Fellowship Soul Choir feat. Shawn Cotterell Release New Single "God Is Good" | WATCH ...
Bay Area Saxophonist Raffi Garabedian Releases New Project "The Crazy Dog" | LISTEN!
Latin Jazz Ensemble Dave Schumacher & Cubeye to Release New Album "Smoke In The Sky" on April 12th, ...
Photographer Matthew Jordan Smith to Release New Book "Aretha Cool: The Intimate Portraits" on March...
Jazz Guitarist Ronny Smith to Release New Album "Struttin" on April 19th, 2024
Saxophonist Michael Cates Releases New Single "Get On It" | LISTEN!
Jazz Guitarist Norman Brown to Release New Album "It Hits Different" on March 29th, 2024 | LISTEN!
Singer/Songwriter Gene-o aka “Classic Twist” Releases New Single “Holding Back The Years” feat. Saxo...
Jazz Guitarist Chris Standring to Release New Project "As We Think" on April 5th, 2024
Violinist Alexa Torres & Her Quartet to Release New Album "In Situ" on June 14th, 2024
Vocalist Queen Esther to Release New Album "Things Are Looking Up" on April 9th, 2024 | LISTEN!
Saxophonist Mo Louis Releases New Track "To The Maxx" feat. Jeff Lorber | LISTEN!
Sevana Releases New Single "Keep Going (Chosen)" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Norah Jones Releases New Album "Visions" | WATCH NEW VIDEO! Announces New Tour for 2024
R&B Singer Ledisi Releases New Single “Perfect Stranger” feat. Kenny Lattimore | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Saxophonist Melissa Aldana Releases New Track "A Story" | WATCH NEW VIDEO! New Album Drops April 5th...
The Stylistics To Re-Release Album "Love Is Back In Style" On March 8th, 2024 | WATCH & LISTEN!
Singer ROME Releases Cover of Lee Fields Soul Song "Forever" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
R&B Singer Roderick Harper Releases New Track "Eternal Love" | LISTEN!