Photo by Brian Nation

At 65, altoist Charles McPherson has been the keeper of the bop flame for nearly half a century. A native of Joplin, MO, McPherson moved with his family to Detroit at age 9, starting trumpet at age 12 when the school band ran out of saxophones. About a year later, he switched to alto, and was hooked on bop when he first heard Charlie Parker’s “Tico Tico.” Detroit’s famed Bluebird Club gave young McPherson the opportunity to hear many of the great bop artists of the 50s, including Barry Harris, Paul Chambers, Thad Jones, and Pepper Adams. He soon formed a bop band at his high school and sat in at the Bluebird where Harris became his mentor. McPherson launched his professional career at age 19, and moved from Detroit to New York in 1959. He was part of Charles Mingus’ bands from 1960-72, and collaborated frequently with Harris, Lonnie Hillyer (trumpet), and George Coleman (tenor sax). Although heavily influenced by Charlie Parker, McPherson was encouraged by Mingus to find his own voice.

McPherson recorded with Mingus and Harris, later issuing a series of recordings with his own groups, including an acclaimed series for Prestige with Cedar Walton. Despite the attention surrounding the avant garde movement of the 1960s, McPherson did not follow the direction of Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler, remaining true to his bop roots throughout his career. Noted McPherson in a recent Jazz Times interview, "I wonder what the world would be like if artists did what they really wanted, with no regard for money. I have, and you pay a price for that."

In the 1980s, he was known for his planned approach to collective improvisation, demonstrated particularly on his recording, The Prophet (1983). McPherson performed and/or recorded with Eric Dolphy, Eddie Jefferson, Art Farmer, Kenny Drew, Toshiko Akiyoshi, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; in the Clint Eastwood Film tribute to Charlie Parker (Bird), he played the role of his idol. Noted Stanley Crouch (New York Times), “He is a singular voice who has never sacrificed the fluidity of his melody making, and is held in high esteem by musicians both long seasoned and young."

Today, McPherson lives in San Diego and is blowing as strongly as ever, combining passion with intricate improvisations. He doesn’t just carry the torch for bop, he takes the idiom beyond its origins. Notes George Varga (Jazz Times), “Appropriately, McPherson's music is a felicitous blend of urbane sophistication and youthful passion that combines fire and finesse in equal measure.”

Charles McPherson will perform on the Mears Park Stage in Lowertown St. Paul on June 18^th from 6:00-7:15 pm (free). He’ll be at the Artists Quarter a few blocks away on both Friday and Saturday, June 17-18, first set at 9 pm ($15 cover); see www.mnjazz.com. See the full festival line-up at www.hotsummerjazz.com