JAZZ REVIEW : Supersax Takes Flight With Bird’s Music in Newport Beach Concert

The glorious music of alto saxophonist Charlie (Bird) Parker will doubtless forever have its legion of fans. The works that the be-bop innovator recorded from the early 1940s until the mid-’50s (he died in 1955) are arguably those of the greatest soloist jazz has yet produced.

But one might wonder if the horn-heavy aggregation of Supersax--which plays classic Parker solos transcribed from his recordings and orchestrated for five saxophones plus rhythm section and trumpet soloist--would drag Bird’s highest flights into a muddy mire.

Friday at the outdoor amphitheater of the Hyatt Newporter, the answer was a resounding “Not!” as the five saxes of altoist-arranger Med Flory’s outfit took Bird aloft--and kept him there.

The arrangements, mostly by Flory, expanded Parker’s lilting, singing tone, giving it a different and still refreshing voice. Quite a feat, given that Supersax was formed in 1972 and has been offering essentially the same program ever since.

You wanted hair-raising thrills, heart-stopping chills? Forget Magic Mountain’s Ninja, Colossus and Psyclone roller coasters. Just listen to Supersax’s version of Parker’s famed “alto break” that precedes his solo of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,” an epic performance recorded in Hollywood on March 28, 1946.

This extravaganza lasts a mere 47 seconds, and it is so crammed full of notes it’s like a swarm of bees whizzing and turning at tremendous speed. Yet Supersax saxophonists Flory, Joe Lopes, Ray Reed, Jay Migliori and Jack Nimitz played this difficult passage with such deftness, they sounded as if they were one giant horn, not five.

Another galloping number was Parker’s version of “Cherokee,” which he called “Koko” and recorded for Savoy Records in 1945. Here Supersax again came vibrantly to life, delivering Parker’s complex yet comely interpretation of Ray Noble’s tune with amazing precision without losing any of the original version’s musical substance.

But not everything that Flory and company played was fast. There was the telling version of “Embraceable You,” derived from Parker’s exquisite rendition, recorded in New York in 1947.

Pianist Lou Levy’s introductory choruses, full of darting runs, choppy chords and silence, ingeniously sidestepped George Gershwin’s timeless melody, as did Parker years before. In typical Supersax fashion, Flory, on lead alto, and Nimitz played the melody of Parker’s improvised solo, while the other saxes added middle-range ballast. The passages created by Parker zoomed like a sprinter, then stopped suddenly, then just as suddenly became a torrent, then slipped easily into the kind of bluesy phrase that was at the heart of the altoist’s style.

Let’s not forget that Supersax also addressed Bird’s medium-tempo renditions, like “K.C. Blues,” where Parker’s solo was replete with phrases that could easily be sung, and the never-dated “Lady, Be Good.” This marvelous improvisation, taken from a 1946 Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles, found Parker swinging hard with simple, rhythmic dynamic ideas and Supersax took that solo and swung it even harder.

A concert by Flory’s band isn’t just about Parker. The leader passes out plenty of solo space, particularly to the trumpet chair that has always been occupied by Conte Candoli, who is currently traveling with Doc Severinsen and was temporarily replaced by Ron Stout.

The Orange County-based Stout, reviewed here with Bopsicle a few months ago, is one of the best be-bop stylists anywhere, on any instrument, and he fit hand-in-glove with Supersax’s efforts.

A man who knows the work of former Parker colleagues Gillespie, Miles Davis and Fats Navarro inside out, Stout offered a slew of rewarding improvisations that were made up of unexpected turns and leaps, fluid up-and-down phrases and biting, hard-edged lines.

Levy, Flory and the rest also spoke with erudition in the musical tongue developed by Parker, and bassist David Carpenter and drummer Frank Capp were the tireless rhythm pair who supported their teammates with efficiency and verve.