It was back to bebop basics in Soho last night with one of the finest alto saxophonists the US has ever produced. Charles McPherson took up the instrument after hearing Charlie “Bird” Parker, whose flights of genius masterminded the bop era, and last night the bond between them remained as tight as ever. “It’s true,” he admitted later. “I’m always trying new things but fundamentally I’m a bebopper and that will never change.”
Enthusiastically backed by US pianist Bruce Barth, Irish drummer Stephen Keogh and English bassist Jeremy Brown, McPherson opened with I’ll Remember April, taken fast enough to make his articulation a little slithery. It was soon razor-sharp. Camille’s Delight, a ballad for his daughter, then revealed the full warmth of his tone, which in the high register remains particularly close to Parker’s.
“Now it’s time to put these young guys to work,” was his dry introduction to Lover, a demanding Rodgers and Hart tune taken at warp speed. Barth’s piano solo was an admirable example of grace under pressure. McPherson’s, too, as he feasted on those bubbling turnaround licks that sum up the joy of music-making on the very edge.
For a veteran it was a remarkable performance but no less than one would expect. Remember McPherson spent 10 years with bass colossus Charlie Mingus and supplied most of the jazz soundtrack for Bird, the Clint Eastwood biopic of Charlie Parker, which so brilliantly evoked the thrill of wartime jazz on New York’s 52nd Street. Furthermore, his recorded version of Stranger in Paradise was selected for Desert Island Discs by Ronnie Scott. Now there’s a real accolade for you.
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