Avenue B, East Village. From 1950 to 1954 Charlie Parker lived at 151 Avenue B. Since 1992 the street has been known as 'Charlie Parker Place'. A year later the first Charlie Parker Jazz Festival was staged in Tompkins Square Park. The Parker residence is situated over the road from the inner-city green space. The annual festival is held on or near Bird's birthday (August 29). The 2024 edition included performances by Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter and octogenarian drummer Louis Hayes. All seats occupied (park benches, deckchairs), hundreds of people standing wherever they could, craning to get a view of the stage, this was the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. It was another hot one, bottled water an essential companion. Our schedule dictated Louis Hayes would be the one set above all others to catch. Louis Hayes (drums) and his NYC A-list band - Abraham Burton (tenor sax), David Hazeltine (piano), Steve Nelson (vibes), Dezron Douglas (double bass) - took to the stage to rapturous applause. If the term 'living legend' can be applied to anyone, it's Louis Hayes. The man's cv...Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane and countless others. At 87, Hayes shows no signs of slowing down.
Hayes has a new album to promote - Artform Revisited - and his band (what a band!) came out firing on all cylinders. Abraham Burton stretching out on tenor, David Hazeltine dazzling at the Yamaha piano and Steve Nelson (vibes) and Dezron Douglas (double bass), familiar figures both from the days of lockdown livestreams, more than living up to expectations. Tour de Force, from the new album, kind of summed up the set. It was time to head over to 326 Spring Street, located, we were told 'way out west'. Russell
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