Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra to Honor Charlie Parker with Symphonic Tribute

Brooklyn's premiere professional orchestra, the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, brings classical and jazz music into conversation in a powerful tribute to jazz legend Charlie Parker on February 13. Featuring acclaimed saxophonist Vincent Herring, the concert offers a one-night-only live orchestral presentation of Charlie Parker with Strings, honoring one of the most influential figures in American music history. Presented as a complete work, the performance also includes music from the original score that was never recorded, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the full scope of Parker's landmark string project live in concert. The performance takes place at 7:30pm at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church as part of Black History Month.

Nicknamed "Bird," Charlie Parker was the father of bebop and one of the most influential alto saxophonists of all time. His radical approach to harmony, rhythm, and improvisation reshaped jazz vocabulary and set the course for generations of musicians. Though Parker died 70 years ago at the age of 34, his music continues to feel daring, lyrical, and emotionally expansive.

Marking the first time the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra has dedicated a full program to jazz, the concert represents a deliberate artistic expansion for the ensemble, engaging directly with a foundational chapter of American music and the musicians who shaped it. The program centers on Charlie Parker with Strings, the groundbreaking 1955 recordings that became the most commercially successful chapter of Parker's career. Blending Parker's improvisatory brilliance with lush string arrangements, the sessions revealed another dimension of his artistry-deeply melodic, expressive, and expansive-while bridging bebop's radical language with a broader musical audience. Long considered a turning point in jazz history, Charlie Parker with Strings affirmed Parker's vision of jazz as an elastic art form capable of existing alongside classical traditions.

Selections are drawn from the Great American Songbook-music Parker transformed through the Strings sessions-including Summertime, April in Paris, They Can't Take That Away from Me, and I'm in the Mood for Love. Presented in their original string arrangements, these works spotlight the lyrical beauty, harmonic daring, and emotional range that defined Parker's playing, even within the lush sweep of an orchestral setting.

Vincent Herring brings deep authority and personal insight to this performance. Known for his intense, soulful sound and commanding swing, Herring has performed and recorded with jazz greats including Nat Adderley, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Cedar Walton, and the Mingus Big Band. He is joined by his quartet Jazz: The Story with Jon Faddis, featuring Eric Reed (piano), John Weber (bass), and Ari Hoenig(drums).

"Charlie Parker didn't just push jazz forward, he redefined what was possible," notes Phil Nuzzo, Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra. "The concert honors Parker not only as a towering innovator, but as one of America's most influential artistic voices. Bringing his work into a symphonic setting allows us to hear his imagination with new depth and color for our Brooklyn audiences."

"It's a rare opportunity for New York audiences to experience Charlie Parker with Strings live," adds Vincent Herring. "I am thrilled to be playing alongside the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra to honor the legacy of such an important and influential artist. This music reveals the full range of Bird's imagination and reminds us why his voice continues to matter."