Charlie “Bird” Parker, Dinah Washington and Michael Jackson were all born on August 29th. That they were all extremely influential musical talents who died way too young, is obvious. All I want to do today is post a clip from each of them in performance which will attest to their greatness.
Charlie Parker (1920 – 1955) / With Coleman Hawkins “Improvisation”
There aren’t too many film clips of Bird playing live. This one with Coleman Hawkins is pretty good. Even on an off day, Charlie Parker was better than most cats on their best day.
Dinah Washington (1924 – 1963) – “Send Me to the Electric Chair”
Like Bird, there aren’t a lot of Dinah Washington clips out there. Also like Bird, she never made it to 40. She should have been a bigger star. Born Ruth Jones, she has always held a special place in my heart because my mom was one of her biggest fans.
Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) – “Who’s Loving You” / “Remember The Time”
And of course, there’s Michael Joseph Jackson. He called himself “The King of Pop”. I was never fond of that moniker but I always admired his brilliance. He gets two clips; one from the beginning and the other from later in his career, of a song (and video) that I always liked.
I mean how can you not love Eddie , Iman, Magic and Michael in the same video!
Curt's Jazz Cafe 