Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
In Memoriam: Gordon Goodwin, 1954–2025
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Z2 Comics plans to publish the graphic novel Chasin’ The Bird: Charlie Parker in California on Sept. 8.
The all-too-brief life of saxophonist Charlie Parker redirected the world, musically. And to mark his centennial this year, Bird is being enshrined in the graphic novel Chasin’ The Bird: Charlie Parker in California—which counts as the first time the saxophonist has been rendered in such a fashion.
Set for release Sept. 8, the book details Parker’s time on the West Coast, beginning in December 1945. Drawn by Dave Chisholm and colored by DreamWorks Animation Director Peter Markowski, Chasin’ The Bird chronicles a formative moment for the saxophonist: He had already cut some sides, including work with pianist Jay McShann. Savoy had released the “Billie’s Bounce/Now’s The Time” 10-inch, which included trumpeter Miles Davis. But Parker’s stint in L.A. would yield definitive tunes like “Orinthology” and “Yardbird Suite,” issued separately in 1946 on the Dial label.
“Charlie Parker is one of the most well-known figures in jazz, and to publish a chapter of his tragically short life story in comics is an honor,” Z2 Comics Publisher Josh Frankel said in a press release. “Jazz has always been a perfect complement to comic books, and certainly an inspiration to some of our greats as well. Robert Crumb would be proud.”
Saxophonist Wayne Shorter included a graphic novel as an integral part of his 2018 Blue Note album, Emanon, and Fantagraphics Books published French cartoonist Blutch’s Total Jazz that same year.
Two versions of Chasin’ The Bird will be available: The standard hardcover edition will include a flexi-disc, and the deluxe edition will be packaged with a limited-edition 45-RPM single and three art prints. DB
Goodwin was one of the most acclaimed, successful and influential jazz musicians of his generation.
Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Belá Fleck during an interview with Fredrika Whitfield on CNN.
Jan 13, 2026 2:09 PM
The fallout from the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include President Donald…
Flea has returned to his first instrument — the trumpet — and assembled a dream band of jazz musicians to record a new album.
Dec 2, 2025 2:01 AM
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, Flea has returned to his first…
Dec 11, 2025 11:00 AM
DownBeat presents a complete list of the 4-, 4½- and 5-star albums from 2025 in one convenient package. It’s a great…
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to interpret the music of Oscar Peterson in his native city,” said Jim Doxas in regard to celebrating the Canadian legend. “He traveled the world, but never forgot Montreal.”
Nov 18, 2025 12:16 PM
In the pantheon of jazz luminaries, few shine as brightly, or swing as hard, as Oscar Peterson. A century ago, a…
