Popular Culture Review Vol. 1, December 1989 | Page 58

Bird however, is the crown jewel of jazz films and one that
perhaps could not have been made without the box office clout of
a Clint Eastwood. Fortunately, and unbeknownst to most, Eastwood
has a long history with the music and treated the subject matter
according.
Originally a Richard Pryor property, Eastwood obtained the
rights and immediately cast largely unknown actors in the pricipal
roles. Eastwood ’s first concern was for the music. Working from
a script by Joel Oliansky, which is based on the unpublished Life in
E Flat by Chan Parker, one of Bird’s four wives, Lennie Niehaus
was hired to score the film. The first problem was how to recreate
the Parker solos. There are a number of alto saxophonists who
could fill the bill more than adequately. Charles MacPherson and
Frank Morgan come to mind immediately, but the answer, finally,
was that it could not be done, at least not to Eastwood’s satisfaction.
(9)
Instead, Eastwood chose to use the original recorded Parker
solos and superimpose them over the new score. The result is a
newly recorded rhythm