One of the highlights of the 2011 Stanford Jazz Festival wasBird with Strings on July 16, which featured SJW faculty member Andrew Speight on alto saxophone, the Alexander String Quartet with guests, and a killin’ rhythm section. They performed arrangements written for Charlie Parker and strings by the best arrangers in jazz; performing these arrangements was pretty much the focus of Charlie Parker’s life in early 1950s, so their significance can’t be overstated. But if you attended Jazz Camp or Jazz Residency, this concert happened before you arrived at Stanford, so you couldn’t catch this prime opportunity to hear this great music played by Andrew at his bebop best.

You and anyone else who missed the original performance of this amazing show are in luck! KCSM Jazz 91.1 FM will broadcast the performance this Sunday evening, September 25, at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time! Hosted by Jim Bennett on his In The Moment show, the performance was not only historic — many of the arrangements have not been heard since Charlie Parker himself performed them — but it was also music of the highest caliber.

This Sunday evening, September 25, at 8:00 p.m., you can tune in via radio or the internet to hear the concert: visit KCSM’s web site for more information by clicking here.

For more info about Jim Bennett and the In The Moment show, click here.

You can read the program notes from the original concert by downloading a PDF file here, and see the original event information on the Stanford Jazz Festival web site here.

Lee Hildebrand wrote an excellent article on Andrew Speight for the San Francisco Chronicle just prior to the performance of Bird with Strings; you can read it here.

See photos of the original performance by clicking here.

For more information on Andrew Speight, visit his own website here, and see his page on the San Francisco State University web site here.

Don’t forget to tune in this Sunday!