Charlie Parker: I Get a Kick Out of You

Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter was Birds last studio dateand his only concept album. There was one composer (Porter) and one theme packaged in an LP rather than a series of singles. But the project was only partially realized. Parker recorded four Porter tracks in March and another two in December, leaving four more to be done. But Parker was never fully committed to the sessionseither because of drug distractions, declining health or pure disinterest. Before Parker could complete the LP, he died on March 12, 1955. Whats interesting about the master take of "I Get a Kick Out of You" is Birds love affair with the Porter melody, Roy Hayness spot-on drumming, and the quirky Jerome Darr guitar solo that remains oddly appealing, despite its limitations.