Charlie Parker

At 3:01 in this January 1954 interview on John McLellan's The Top Shelf, Paul Desmond identifies an excerpt of Vingt-cinq exercices journaliers pour le saxophone in one of Parker's records. Below is a transcript—checked against those of Carl Woideck, Bob Reynolds and Robert O'Meally—of the moment (which begins at 2:03):

Desmond: Another thing that’s been a major factor in your playing is this fantastic technique that nobody’s quite equaled and I always wondered about that, too, whether there was... whether that came behind practicing or whether that was just from playing, whether it evolved gradually.

Parker: Well, um, you make it so hard for me to answer, you know, because I can’t see where there’s anything fantastic about it at all. I put quite a bit of study into the horn, that’s true.

Desmond: Mm-hm.

Parker: In fact, the neighbors threatened to ask my mother to move once when we were living out West, I mean... She said I was driving 'em crazy with the horn. I used to put in at least eleven, from eleven to fifteen hours a day.

Desmond: Yeah that's, that’s what I wondered.

Parker: Well that’s true, yes. I did that for over a period of three or four years.

Desmond: Oh, yeah. I guess that’s the answer.

Parker: That’s the facts, anyway. (chuckles)

Desmond: I heard a record o' yours a couple of months ago that somehow I've missed up to date and I heard a little two-bar quote from the Klosé book that was like an echo from home.

Parker: Ooh?

Desmond: (Scatting) Doot doo-doo-doo dit doot dit doot dit dit-doot-doo dit dit doo...

Parker: Yeah, yeah. Well that was all done with books, you know. Naturally, it wasn’t done with mirrors, this time it was done with books.

Desmond: Now that's, that's very reassuring to hear because somehow I got the idea that you were just sort of born with that technique and you never had to worry too much about... keepin' it working.

McLellan: You know, I’m very glad that he’s bringing up this point because I think a lot of young musicians tend to think that...

Desmond: Yeah, they do. They just go out…

McLellan: ...that it isn’t necessary to do this.

Desmond: ...go out and make those sessions and live the life, but they don’t put in that eleven hours a day with any of the books.

Parker: Oh, definitely, study is absolutely necessary, in all forms. It’s just like any talent that’s born within somebody, it’s just like a good pair of shoes when you put a shine on it, you know? Like, schooling brings out the polish, you know, of any talent that happens anywhere in the world. Einstein had schooling, but he has a definite genius, you know, within himself. Schooling is one of the most wonderful things there’s ever been, you know.

Woideck and Sax on the Web user Syzygy (the latter in a November 14, 2010 forum reply) identify Desmond's excerpt as coming from Exercise 23. Looking at the sheet music for it confirms this identification: Desmond's scatting matches the first two bars of the exercise.

It is not immediately apparent what record Desmond could be referring to. Woideck puts forth the January 17, 1951 recording of "K.C. Blues", but it was first released as a single the same month of the interview, not at least "a couple of months" prior. A few posthumously released tapes also contain the quote.

The following are instances in Parker's extant recordings where he quotes Exercise 23:

• "Wee" (Live at the Hi-De-Ho Club, CA, March 8, 1947) (cf. Woideck (First edition, 2020 edition), Remnick, Martinelli) at 0:58 (On vinyl, With transcription) - Released as "Big Noise" in Section 14 of The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings of Charlie Parker
• "K.C. Blues" (Recorded January 17, 1951) (cf. Woideck) at 2:46 - Released as a single in January 1954, reissued on The Magnificent Charlie Parker (1955) and Swedish Schnapps (1957)
• "Out of Nowhere" (Live at Open Door, NY, Jul 26, 1953) (cf. よういち Phrase 053) at 1:29 - Released on Bird's Eyes: Last Unissued, Vol. 24 (cf. Losin)
• Circa late 1954 tape of Parker practicing and an interview, recorded by Dick Meldonian (cf. Losin) at 0:57 - Released as "Scales And Music Lecture" on Bird's Eyes: Last Unissued, Vol. 16 (and excerpted as "Bird Practicing His Saxophone" on The Last Notes 1953-1954, where the exercise is heard at 0:25)

According to the article "10 Legendary Saxophonists and Their Instruments" by KGUBrass Admin on KGUmusic, Charlie Parker used a Conn 6M "Naked Lady" Alto Saxophone during his career. This is further corroborated by additional context in the comments section, which confirms the Conn 6M was part of Parker's setup during his work in developing bebop jazz.