Mitch and Bird

We were surprised, this week, to read an obituary for Mitch Miller; surprised because we assumed the spade-bearded A&R giant and singalong maestro had departed this planet decades ago.  He had not. Mitch Miller was on the scene, if not actually seen, until age ninety-nine.

Probably few persons under the age of sixty would have known who Mitch Miller was.  The obituary writers made up for that.  But they left out what was, for some of us, the most interesting part of his long and varied career:  the fact that he had played oboe on the initial recordings of Charlie Parker with strings.

The year was 1949, and Parker--Bird--recorded six 78 rpm tracks. With him, and a group of classically-oriented string players, were Stan Freeman, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Buddy Rich, drums; and Mitch Miller, oboe.  Apart from Parker, only Freeman and Miller got solos, and Miller's were significantly large.    

Parker was not only the leading figure in post-1945 jazz, he was, in the opinion of New York music educator and "Metronome" writer Barry Ulanov, "the greatest improviser since J.S. Bach."  Many of his admirers thought recording Parker with strings was an artistic vulgarization.  Stan Kenton said Parker's playing was like "a pearl in a puddle of mud."  But those recordings have stood up remarkably well, and one of them--"Just Friends"--is among the best of Parker's legacy.

Mitch Miller was a secondary figure on these recordings, but a perfect balance for Parker and the strings.  Most people who remember Miller will remember "The Yellow Rose of Texas," "Come On-a My House" and "Sing Along with Mitch."   We'll remember "Charlie Parker with Strings"--Bird and Mitch.