Name: Hail Charlie Parker!
Duration: P00H03M13S
Description: This is an improvised acoustic version, played on National Steel guitar, of a song I first recorded with The Tarbox Ramblers.

Hail Charlie Parker!

by Michael Tarbox

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This is an improvised acoustic version, played on National Steel guitar, of a song I first recorded with The Tarbox Ramblers.

lyrics

Hail Charlie Parker, patron saint of the night
Peerless prince of logic and light
Came to New York, shook ’em on down
3 Deuces, Minton’s and Harlem uptown
Inventing the future with a fearless art
Braving new worlds, pulling old worlds apart

The club was full of smoke, you could smell the perfume
Narco men lurking at the back of the room
But from Carnegie Hall to gutbucket bars
Charlie carved a path through the dark to the stars
Melancholy Baby, How High The Moon
Autumn Leaves on Charlie Parker’s tomb

He came from Kansas City where something in the air
Made ‘em swing harder than most anywhere
He sensed the unseen, embraced the unknown
And transcribed the night on alto saxophone
Cascading chorus, lucid refrain
The night burned bright in Charlie Parker’s brain

Like Einstein and Giacometti
When greatness called Charlie Parker was ready
He threw down with wit, and razorblade style
Made it all up with Dizzy, Max and Miles
Can a sound change the world? Yes it certainly can
That’s Yardbird Parker up on the bandstand

credits

released May 5, 2023

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Michael Tarbox Boston

“Homemade rock and roll with a dose of rattlesnake venom and gospel-drenched howling.” -- All Things Considered

"Tarbox is the most evocative and distinctive blues-roots artist to come down the pike in ages.” -- The Calgary Sun ... more

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