Lookin' for Bird in the Big City ANNOTATION
A fictionalized account of the time when, as a teen-age music student, trumpeter Miles Davis spent many hours trying to find Charlie Parker in New York City.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
From bridge to street to subway, Miles Davis hears the king of bebop's music so clearly he feels they must be destined to meet. Finally, when it seems he has turned the last corner of the city, he finds him--Charlie Parker, the most fantastic bird ever heard. Robert Burleigh's soulful lyricism and Marek Los's bold brushstrokes combine to create a brilliant portrait of what might have happened one fateful night.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature
The jazz trumpeter Miles Davis actually did go to New York City as a teenager, searching for the legendary Charlie "Bird" Parker. Together, they worked on the new bebop style of jazz. Here Burleigh has young Davis describe his exploration of the city, its skyline, streets, bridges, subways, ferries and clubs until he finally finds Parker and they play satisfyingly together and solo. The spare text has a staccato rhythm punctuated by the sounds, the "Zippa-wee-da," "Dop-dop, skitteree," Upadee" of jazz, as it tells a story of how it may have been. Illustrator Los' double page paintings are more like tone poems than guide book photos of the city. The misty gray of the harbor, the hazy skyline, the electric dull pinks of the jazz club lined streetﾽall are saturated with the emotions of Davis's search and the final duet, in this introduction to a piece of jazz history. 2001, Silver Whistle/Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Kirkus Reviews
Burleigh limns a fictionalized account of the very young Miles Davis coming to New York City with his trumpet, seeking Charlie "Bird" Parker and his saxophone. He searches via clubs and rooftops, subways and bridges, seeking the music "sky-ee, dee-ah, dee-ah, do-dee, da-do." The urgency of his search, tinged with desire, need, and the merest hint of rivalry, suffuses the text, punctuated by scat lines that float or swoop over the pictures: "notes that clanged like buoy bells, and tumbled like the whiteness of the wake, 'cause Bird's horn had those sounds inside it, and I wanted them, too." Pencil, oil, and watercolor were used in the full-page, full-bleed illustrations, which have a rich, smoky texture. The colors of deep twilight and overcast heavens soften the expansive cityscapes, recalling the heyday of 57th Street and its abundance of nightclubs. Once inside, the silhouetted shapes of Miles and Bird on stage together have an iconic presence. Best read aloud by a storyteller with jazz inside, but sure to inspire more music. (Picture book. 5-9)
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