“McPherson’s harmonic ideas push the boundaries of bebop” – Downbeat
Charles McPherson was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1939 and moved to Detroit at the age of nine. While growing up in Detroit, he studied with the renowned pianist Barry Harris. McPherson began playing professionally at nineteen. Then, compelled by a desire to be in the heart of the jazz scene, moved to New York in 1959. He soon joined bassist Charles Mingus’s band in 1960 and stayed with the group until 1972. During his twelve years working with Mingus, McPherson collaborated frequently with Barry Harris, Lonnie Hillyer, George Coleman and others.
McPherson has performed at concerts and festivals around the world with an array of musical groups. He has toured the U.S., Europe, Japan, Africa, South America and Canada with his own group. He also toured with jazz greats Barry Harris, Billy Eckstine, Lionel Hampton, Nat Adderly, Jay McShann, and Phil Woods. Additionally, Wynton Marsalis, Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, James Moody, and Dizzy Gillespie. Lincoln Center featured McPherson in a showcase of his original compositions. Further, he joined Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in April 2019, celebrating McPherson’s eightieth birthday. The evening’s performance included new arrangements of seven of Charles’s iconic original compositions.
McPherson has recorded as a guest artist with Charlie Mingus, Barry Harris, Art Farmer, Kenny Drew, Toshiko Akiyoshi, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Additionally, McPherson was the featured alto saxophonist in the Clint Eastwood film Bird, a biopic about Charlie Parker.
Recommended for fans of Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Lew Tabackin and Phil Woods.
LEARN MORE: https://charlesmcpherson.com/
- Genre:
- Jazz
