Ornithology

The nickname "Bird" found its permanent home in this composition's title, though the sound of the piece itself is more playful than predatory — lighter on its feet than "Ko-Ko," built for flight rather than speed alone. The chord sequence borrowed from another popular standard gives the musicians a familiar harmonic map to navigate, but Parker's approach to navigation was to treat the expected pathway as merely one of many options, constantly veering into adjacent harmonic territory and returning to the tonic with a casualness that disguised enormous theoretical sophistication. The alto saxophone lines are long and conversational here, full of the rhythmic variety that made Parker's phrasing so difficult to transcribe — he grouped notes in irregular clusters that created their own internal logic, distinct from the underlying meter. There is joy in this piece, a demonstrable pleasure in the act of playing that comes through even in recordings made under imperfect conditions. This is music that rewards transcription but resists reduction to its notes alone.