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Overlooked: Bird & Prez in Blue (Audio)
In this broadcast from Overlook Mountain, host Rob Saffer will celebrate the upcoming birthdays of Lester “Prez” Young (August 27) and Charlie “Bird” Parker (August 29) by showcasing the bluesier aspect of their compositions and playing. While not always technically in Blues form, the 27 pieces highlight the deep, bluesy expressiveness exhibited by both masters. The first half of the show will feature Bird, and the second half, Prez. The show is also dedicated to Rob's sister, Cathy, whose birth and death day is August 28. Her memory, along with Bird and Prez, is a blessing.
Playlist:
Vitus Labrusca ("Overlooked" theme) - Ben LaMar Gay
Charlie Parker:
Parker’s Mood
Bluebird
Cool Blues
Laura
K.C. Blues
Lover Man
Body and Soul
My Melancholy Baby
April in Paris
Summertime
If I Should Lose You
Embraceable You
I’ll Remember April
Bird of Paradise
My Old Flame
Now’s the Time
Out of Nowhere
Lester Young:
Blue Lester
Blues ’n Bells
Ghost of a Chance
Prisoner of Love
This Year’s Kisses
I’ll Never Be the Same
These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You
Fine and Mellow
Gigantic Blues
“Overlooked” is a show focusing on overlooked and underplayed music of all varieties: jazz, improvisational, international, and other fringe music, ancient to future, familiar to rare, classic to weird. Broadcast live from Overlook Mountain in Ulster County, “Overlooked” offers programs focused solely on newly released music along with others that focus on specific musical themes or history.
Host Rob Saffer is the former Executive Director and Producer of the Creative Music Foundation and Creative Music Studio. While living in Brooklyn for 25 years, he served on advisory boards for Celebrate Brooklyn! and Symphony Space. He also curated the Brooklyn Museum’s summer jazz series and helped found The Mingus Big Band with Mingus’s widow, Sue. He is also a judge for the annual Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll.

