A little over 100 years since his birth and 70 years since his passing, saxophonist Gabriele Comeglio has staged the show Bird Lives with actor Cochi Ponzoni, which tells the story of the wandering and chaotic life of Charlie Parker: the inventor of bebop, along with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. An atypical figure on the jazz scene, Bird managed to revolutionize it with the new language of bebop, which would make him immortal. Shortly after his premature death in 1955, the phrase “Bird lives” would appear on several walls in New York’s Greenwich Village, meaning Charlie Parker is alive, a tribute to the great saxophonist and a sign to preserve his memory. The program proposed for the Music Center represents the soundtrack of the show, featuring famous compositions that made the Kansas City saxophonist renowned, such as Scrapple from the Apple, A Night in Tunisia, Lover Man, My Little Suede Shoes, Now’s the Time.

Saxophonist, arranger, and orchestra conductor, Gabriele Comeglio was the first alto sax of the RAI Orchestra in Milan for thirteen years, as well as the director of the Jazz Class Orchestra of Pomeriggi Musicali. With his big band, the Jazz Company, he has participated in numerous concert seasons, performing in theaters such as the Regio in Parma and the Auditorium of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and has collaborated with artists of the caliber of Bob Mintzer, Jerry Bergonzi, Randy Brecker, and Franco Ambrosetti, among others. He has created music for successful television programs, written scores for theater, musicals, and ballet, and has also conducted the orchestra for the Sanremo Festival and the Swiss Radio, collaborating on albums by Zucchero and Francesco De Gregori. He created the television theme for “Che tempo che fa” and wrote arrangements for Mina, Antonacci, Ron, and Battiato.

Playbill

Gabriele Comeglio alto sax
Claudio Angeleri piano
Marco Esposito bass
Federico Monti drums

Program

Dizzy Gillespie
Groovin’ High

Charlie Parker
Scrapple from the Apple
Chasin’ the Bird
K.C. Blues
Bebop
Now’s the Time
My Little Suede Shoes
Au Privave
Dewey Square

Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli
A Night in Tunisia

Julian Davis, Ram Ramirez
Lover Man

John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis
Just Friends