When I start working on a program of music with Chicago a cappella, one thing I particularly look forward to is the chance to dig into the intricate and often fascinating history and legacy of much of the music we perform. As I began preparing the charts for our upcoming Jazz a cappella program, I found myself heading down a delightful and deep set of rabbit holes set off by one very notable piece of music: “Birdland”
I was first introduced to this important tune sometime during high school, when I sang a simplified version of the chart with an impromptu vocal jazz ensemble. This iconic piece of music was made most famous by the vocal jazz group The Manhattan Transfer. I’m sure I listened to their 1979 recording about one hundred times as I worked to etch its groovy bassline into the hardwood of my brain. As I’ve come back to the piece, I’m finding that some of my etching from back in the day has needed correction.
As we plunge into the rabbit hole, we discover that The Manhattan Transfer didn’t write this song. The original “Birdland” chart was composed by Joe Zawinul of the jazz fusion group Weather Report and was released a few years earlier, in 1977. The legendary jazz vocalist Jon Hendricks (of the vocal jazz trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross) later added lyrics to Weather Report’s instrumental version, which allowed The Manhattan Transfer to score a hit. Their version has been covered and reinterpreted by many jazz musicians. I recommend checking out Quincy Jones’ take on it from the album Back on the Block.
Zawinul wrote “Birdland” as a tribute to the legendary Birdland jazz club, which operated from 1949 until 1965 at Broadway and 52nd in Manhattan. The club was named Birdland to capitalize on—and perhaps co-opt—the contemporary popularity of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, one of the true greats of jazz. Another giant of the genre, Miles Davis, famously said, “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.” Parker’s groundbreaking development of bebop influenced everything that came after him, including much of the music we’ll present in Jazz a cappella.
As I explored the history of “Birdland”, I also found myself sidetracked by an investigation into The Manhattan Transfer’s history as an ensemble. The group was founded by Tim Hauser, a musician who was working as a cab driver in New York City to make ends meet. He named the group after a novel of the same name by John Dos Passos, published in 1925. As I write this blog post, I’ve made it through the first section of Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer and have found it to be a wild, expressionistic depiction of a chaotic and magnificent city. The novel, in my estimation, is a kindred spirit to the music of the jazz age and has helped me understand The Manhattan Transfer’s musical style. Just as they did with “Birdland,” the group set lyrics (many also written by Jon Hendricks) to numerous instrumental jazz standards. Their work brings a literal, literary specificity to the otherwise unbounded expressionism of jazz—much like Dos Passos’ Manhattan Transfer does to the spirit of an age in New York City.
The Manhattan Transfer’s “Birdland” is an exceptional piece of music that celebrates, through its sounds and lyrics, the vital, diverse, and rich heritage of jazz. And if this one song can tell such a story, imagine how much more there is to experience at one of our upcoming Jazz a cappella performances.
Hope to see you there!
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