"I Knew the Real Charlie Parker" - Sonny Rollins 

Chan’s autobiography offers up a lot on just who Bird was as a person as well. She noted Bird, outside of the music, really just wanted to be a normal father and live in the suburbs. Bird went to the grocery store, hung out in neighborhood bars in their area of NY, which were primarily Russian immigrants at the time, thus no one knew who he was, and he immersed himself in that life. Had he lived, Chan stated his intentions were to go to Paris and study composition and soak in that scene. Who knows how much he could have grown.

"Coltrane has taken over that mantle." Interesting to hear Sonny say that, as he is right up there beside Bird and Trane 😉

Charlie Parker is still helping us all know music and its possibilities.

Bird lived an extreme life: he achieved the highest levels of musicianship, while often living the lowest level due to his horrible drug addiction. It's so nice to know that he was a very humble guy who just wanted to live a regular life. He is one of the few musicians who I feel deep in my soul when I listen.

Let's appreciate Sonny while he is still with us(as of 6/1/23)He,Roy Haynes and a very few others are the last of that era.

I would love to meet Sonny.

I love every opportunity this channel provides to hear Sonny Rollins speak, but I especially appreciate the context he provides in this clip on Charlie Parker and the environment that he (and Sonny) navigated at that time. Thank you for posting this, Bret.

I’ve known 6 people who knew Bird (including one British musician who had dinner with him!) and they’ve all talked about that experience as kind of central to their lives. Amazing how he still inspires.

Sonny Rollins is on the same level that few reach. Legend status. My favourite sax player 100%

Parker was not only the greatest instrumentalist of the twentieth century he was innovator of the first order right up there with Stravinsky and Joyce it was wonderful to see and listen to Sonny Rollins the living God of the tenor saxophone.

If Bird was alive today and we all heard him for the very first time, he would still have that same affect on all of us. Bird lives!

Love this interview Bret. It’s so beautiful to hear Sonny Rollins speaking about Bird challenging additional social boundaries in addition to those musical ones he’s best know for. Thank you again!

Painting, decorating, creating, dreaming, dressing, expression, unmasking, running, walking and silence, beautiful that JAZZ to me

Thank you for sharing this beautiful wisdom. Sonny ROLLINS is our greatest creative ARTIST.

Wonderfully straightforward and intelligent perspective ..no attempt at a sale - just telling it the way it was.

Very interesting interview. It's great to remember the jazz history with that type of perspective : jazz was a force of emancipation for a lot of people.

Totally enjoy these musician's interviews.

Bebop revolutionized music theory, dramatically expanding the possibilities available in composing all music, not just jazz. You hear the use of modern jazz chord progressions and scales in every movie soundtrack today. Bird, Coltrane, Monk, Miles and others were musical geniuses to equal any classical composers. Most of the rock guitar gods are rooted in jazz theory, but don't tell their fans. The themes of dozens of TV shows and movies are really modern jazz in the way they're written.

Thanks for posting! Never thought of the entertainer v artist choice the greatest players perhaps had to consider and its consequences. Cheers

Big Love for YOUR love of this music and its musicians. Thank you for your hard work!🙏🏽💖✌🏾

It's interesting to speculate where Bird would have flown had he lived longer.

Really nice piece. Thanks Bret!

great video! Jazz Video Guy serves the music.

Un géant évoquant un autre géant. Beaucoup d'intelligence et de lucidité dans les propos de Sonny Rollins.

Great stuff

Thanks, Bret. Great stuff, as always. -Gordon 👍🎶

Thank you, Bret and Sonny🌹🔥😎😎🌹🔥

inspiration

If the BOSS thinks Bird is God, that's the highest of compliments.

Despite his virtuosity, Parker is forgotten in American culture.

Great interview!

Very, very cool!

Great video !!!!!!

"I Knew the Real Charlie Parker" - Sonny Rollins "I Know the Real Sonny Rollins" - Bret Primack

Just great content!

Very important video, thanks Bret)

i recently watched whiplash the movie and they mention an anecdote about charlie parker. i would love it, if mainstream media would program content about jazz more often.

Now that is interesting. Reminds me of my Father's attitude - "...there are enough entertainers."

Cool

Sonny's perspective on Bird is great. How's Sonny doing today? Anyone? I hope well.

Love Bird. Love Sonny. 🎷🎵👍

that's very interesting to hear

More greatness from Sonny. We are so lucky to have this guy still around, still as lucid as ever, unpretentious and avoid the usual spritual cliches that some of the other greats seem to rely on as gestures of profundity, and even now still able to contribute so much to the new biography. If only Miles had lived so long, he would have talked straight too, but would he have been so open?

If you want to know about Charlie Parker..read Miles Davis's autobiography

Bird lives

👍👍👍👍

Birds don't live long lives!

This interview looks from quite awhile ago; date?

The most important artists (visual and musical) are innovators. They often seem to have huge personalities as well, but not always. Quoting an art museum president who is an acquaintance, "98% of all art is crap." Not these guys!

Much more believable god than the con being pulled on people.

While. We're. At. It. Sonny. Rollins. Just. Released. A. New. Book. Titled. Saxophone. Colossus. I. Just. Got. It. Here's. To. Sonny.