“Bird with Strings”: A Charlie Parker 100th B-Day Celebration

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Nevada School of the Arts (NSA), a nonprofit community-based music education school serving Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, is paying tribute to American jazz pioneer Charlie Parker’s 100th birthday and presenting a live performance of the legendary “Bird With Strings” recordings at Myron’s Jazz Cabaret inside Smith Center for the Performing Arts on August 28-29, 2020.

Alto saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker was instrumental in changing the face of music when he hit New York in the 1940s. One of Bird’s dreams was to record with a string section, which was realized through “Bird With Strings.” These studio sessions joined the forces of classical and jazz communities, creating Symphonic Jazz and broadening jazz trends in the 1950s and onward, mixing things up instrumentally and stylistically. Led by internationally recognized music director Justin DiCioccio, these legendary orchestral recordings of Charlie “Bird” Parker will be brought to life by guest soloist and bop-oriented saxophonist Dick Oatts, who will be accompanied by NSA-affiliated performers.