The Royal Roost was a jazz club located at 1580 Broadway in New York City. Opened in the Spring of 1948, it was designed to stage the more experimental jazz trends of the day. Thus, the cream of "experimental jazz musicians" in town became the club regulars, among which Charlie Parker had the most remembered (and recorded) residency throughout 1948 and 1949.
Paul Bacon describes the atmosphere of the club as something of "tremendous vitality and urgency." He portrays one typical night at the Roost as following:
"The air inside is full of crackling expectancy, chaos... Some few tables in front of the stand are empty, awaiting the important hipster crows - theater, sports, radio people - who will fill those chairs in a late-arriving flurry. Much craning of necks, more greetings. Somebody - Max Roach, in fact - come out, leans over from the bandstand and has an animated conversation with an important-looking bearded man. Looking around, one's first impressions are reinforced; this is the center of the world!"Many live recordings from the legendary Roost performances have surfaced ever since. This collection, found on the Internet Archive, presents some of them, featuring my favorite Roost line-up of Bird with Al Haig (on piano) and Max Roach (drums).
February 12, 1949
Charlie Parker Quintet
Kenny Dorham (trumpet) Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Al Haig (piano) Tommy Potter (bass) Max Roach (drums)
Scrapple From The Apple
Barbados
Bebop
February 19, 1949
Charlie Parker Septet
Kenny Dorham (trumpet) Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone) Milt Jackson (vibraphone) Al Haig (piano) Tommy Potter (bass) Max Roach (drums) Dave Lambert, Buddy Stewart (vocals)
Groovin' High
Confirmation
Salt Peanuts
March 12, 1949
Charlie Parker Septet
Kenny Dorham (trumpet) Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone) Milt Jackson (vibraphone) Al Haig (piano) Tommy Potter (bass) Max Roach (drums) Dave Lambert, Buddy Stewart (vocals)
Cheryl
On A Slow Boat To China
Chasin' The Bird
February 26, 1949
Charlie Parker Septet
Kenny Dorham (trumpet) Charlie Parker (alto saxophone) Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone) Milt Jackson (vibraphone) Al Haig (piano) Tommy Potter (bass) Max Roach (drums) Dave Lambert, Buddy Stewart (vocals)
Half Nelson
A Night In Tunisia
Scrapple From The Apple
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| Charlie Parker at the Royal Roost (photograph from December 1948) |
Very astute and gracious look at "The Roost" as the " Center Of The World!" No doubt a sound was heard and felt for decades to come. As they scream from the crowd, " Gone Bird!!" Yes, Go Ahead On Forward.
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