“Star Eyes” by Charlie Parker

When musical historians reflect upon the history of jazz and more specifically bebop, Charlie Parker’s name is one of the first to pop up. His work as a soloist and approach to the saxophone revolutionized jazz.

“Star Eyes” was written by Gene de Paul and Don Raye for the 1943 Red Skelton film I Dood it. It was originally performed by Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly as an orchestral love song with sappy arrangements that any crooner would wait in line to sing. Parker’s version takes it to a darker place, of painful longing for that loving embrace. But don’t let his first adoring solo deceive you. Parker refuses to be upstaged by Miles Davis and Walter Bishop and at 2:37 we see his second solo stomp, dance, and tip toe magnificently all over their comparatively immature playing.
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By all accounts, Charlie Parker is considered the greatest saxophonist of all time and for good reason. His virtuosity, speed and control are still unmatched. He would spend fifteen hours a day playing, and every time I listen to him, it’s hard not to think of that, and how sad it is that we lost him so young.