“Bud’s Blues” (PDF) from the Joe Pass & J.J. Johnson album, We’ll Be Together Again

At the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival, trombonist J.J. Johnson led an all-star group of musicians in a tribute to the bebop innovator Charlie Parker, whose music showcased the complexity, intellectualism, and liberation of the Black experience in America that was still being explored throughout the hard bop and post-bop eras. On alto saxophone was Sonny Stitt, whose playing was often compared with Parker’s own genius and who had previously recorded with Johnson and pianist Bud Powell throughout 1949 and 1950 on sessions for Prestige.

Sonny Stitt is credited as the composer of “Bud’s Blues” on their 1951 collaboration, but it is unclear as to who actually came up with the tune. Perhaps it was Stitt’s intent to simply pay tribute to the working pianist’s struggles outside of the music scene, which included incarceration, institutionalization, and addiction - the pillars of systemic racism established by white supremacy. Powell was fortunate enough to find some respite outside of the States for a few years but ultimately had the same experience upon his return, a fate that would forever be overshadowed by the tabloid-friendly demise of Charlie Parker. The blues remains to be the common thread, but how many other tunes still go unsung?

Here is a YouTube video of a tribute to Charlie Parker, led by J.J. Johnson and featuring Sonny Stitt:

Recommended Reading: Exercises And Etudes For The Jazz Instrumentalist by J.J. Johnson. Published by Hal Leonard.