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| Richard Baratta reimagines Charlie Parker songbook on his fifth album  Savant Records announces the May 22, 2026 release of Another Kind of Bird, the compelling new album from drummer and bandleader Richard Baratta. His fifth recording for the label finds Baratta revisiting music associated with Charlie Parker.Richard Baratta has built a career defined by range and reinvention. He began playing professionally more than four decades ago, performing with big bands and ensembles around New York before transitioning into film, where he became a highly respected producer with credits including The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, Joker, and several Spider-Man films. In 2020, Baratta returned decisively to the bandstand with Music in Film: The Reel Deal, reimagining iconic movie themes in a dynamic jazz setting. The album proved both a commercial and artistic success, amassing millions of streams and reestablishing him as a serious presence in the contemporary jazz landscape. Rather than treating the material as sacred text, Baratta approached it as living language. He set out to explore the repertoire from a fresh vantage point. The result is music that moves fluidly across post-bop drive, Latin-inflected grooves, and flashes of rock-tinged energy, yet remains cohesive and focused. One of Baratta's most ambitious decisions on Another Kind of Bird was expanding his customary sextet to feature a larger saxophone front line on selected tracks. The added horns bring power and dimension, amplifying both the rhythmic thrust and the harmonic color of the arrangements. "In the history of jazz, nobody has made more of an impact than Parker, " Baratta explains, "so I thought I'd pay homage by adding more horns." Equally important is the choice of musicians Baratta has assembled. He selected Vincent Herring, Eric Alexander, Craig Handy, and Abraham Burton not only for their formidable reputations but for the musical rapport developed over years of collaboration. "They're some of the greatest jazz musicians and sax players on the planet, " he says, adding with a grin that they are "freakin' monsters on their horns." write your comments about the article :: © 2026 Jazz News :: home page |