Bird Up: The Charlie Parker Remix Project (Savoy Jazz)

“The Bird” in question here, of course, is Charlie Parker — the legendary saxman who pushed jazz into the modern era. He didn’t just play music; he bent it, doubled it, and molded to it to his will. Already a legend upon his death in 1955 — he became the blueprint for every tragic rock figure that followed, having dropped dead at the age of 34 after rounds of drug addiction and repeated attempts at suicide — Parker’s aura has grown even larger in the ensuing years. Bird Up is filled with more than just remixes — but wholesale reinterpretations and improvisations that evoke the true spirit of Parker’s jazz. It is an unexpected listen — challenging and far less groove-orientated than the current round of jazzisms (Madlib’s Shades of Blue, or Verve Mixed). Chalk this up to the diverse array of artists crashing the boards — Kronos Quartet, Ravi Coltrane, Serj Tankian of System of a Down, producer Hal Wilner, and others. It is a decidedly edgy affair — like Edgar Allen Poe and Tom Waits performing homemade instruments in a dark Parisian jazz cavern while shooting heroin. The groove does occasionally take the forefront when the elite of the hip-hop underground (RZA, El-P, Dan the Automator, Rob Swift) take their turn. Yet Bird Up is not a record to get your mojo working – but definitely one to work your head.

SAM WICK