WKCR is elated to announce two very special birthday broadcasts: Lester Young, known also as “Prez,” and Charlie “Bird” Parker. In keeping with tradition, we celebrate each of these legends with a 24-hour birthday broadcast: August 27 is all Prez and August 29 is all Bird. Since they were born just two days apart, we also preempt the day in the middle: on August 28, we play Prez until noon, then switch to Bird.
Lester Young, “President” of the tenor saxophone, really showed the world his style in the Count Basie Orchestra, starting in 1933. On tunes like “Taxi War Dance,” “D.B. Blues,” and “Lester Leaps In,” you can hear his light touch, quick vibrato, melodic phrasing, and complex harmonic improvisation. He had a close relationship with Billie Holiday, who gave him his nickname and who received her nickname from him. Their recordings together are some of the most memorable ever made. Prez blew wide open the way you could play the tenor saxophone. Among the scores of musicians whom Prez influenced was the young Charlie Parker.
Miles Davis once said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.” In that spirit, we will forgo the typical biographical notes on Parker’s life, just to say that Parker changed the entire course of music in his 34 years of life. Some aspects of his life and career are mysterious: for example, no one agrees how he got his nickname. But his indelible mark on jazz and music is indisputable. No artist looms larger than Charlie Parker, including here at WKCR. Because of Phil Schaap’s enduring admiration for Bird––and his “Birdflight” shows, which he began in 1981 and which still air on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings––Bird is the most played artist on WKCR.
Listeners can tune in to our 3-day birthday festival for Prez and Bird on 89.9FM or stream the birthday broadcast live on our website, wkcr.org. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for updates about this special broadcast and future events. As always, online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.
