Feelings of dread hit me whenever I start hearing about the U.S. Open — not that I have anything against tennis, but the tournament’s approach is a signifier of the end of summer — but there is something I look forward to this time of year: The Charlie Parker Festival, in honor of the legendary saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who revolutionized jazz.

Although Parker (1920-1955) was born and raised in Kansas City, and had musical adventures all over the world, he lived for most of his life in New York. The Parker birthday performances are taking place in the three neighborhoods where he spent most of his time on the planet.

The big-ticket event is the “Bird with Strings” show, essentially a concert, at Birdland, which is the literal descendent of the club named after Parker that opened in 1949.  Around that same time, Parker made a series of sessions (and later toured) with a large string orchestra that represented an attempt to both reach a wider audience and to draw upon the more romantic aspects of his playing.

The 2022 presentation stars Ken Peplowski, who plays clarinet and tenor sax, along with trumpeter Terrell Stafford, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Peter Washington, drummer Willie Jones III, and eight young violinists and violists. Mr. Peplowski underscores that even though Parker is primarily remembered as quite possibly the greatest improviser in all of jazz, he also was a master of playing beautiful melodies like “Laura” and “Everything Happens to Me.”  

The program starts with Neal Hefti’s 1947 composition “Repetition,” which is rarely played live. After hearing it in person played by Mr. Peplowksi, I’m convinced Hefti misnamed this exciting tune that combines Parker’s high-powered bebop with an undulating latinate beat. It is anything but repetitious. The string arrangements written for Parker in this project are nothing short of rapturous, and jazz fans should not miss this rare opportunity to hear them played in front of an audience. 

The major events uptown are at Smoke and at Marcus Garvey Park. At the recently reopened club on 105th and Broadway, the contemporary jazz alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa acknowledges his debt to Parker’s innovations of the 1940s.  

Marcus Garvey Park, which is just a few blocks North of Minton’s — widely acknowledged as the birthplace of bebop — is the home for the first two days of The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, presented by Summerstage. The most highly recommended show tonight stars Jazzmeia Horn, an inspired young jazz singer reminiscent of Betty Carter, one of the few vocalists to perform with Charlie Parker himself.

On Saturday afternoon at Marcus Garvey, there’s an ambitious lineup of bands and performers, including composer-trumpeter Terrence Blanchard fronting two different ensembles, The E-Collective and the Turtle Island String Quartet. The storied bassist Buster Williams and another young singer well worth hearing (even in the heat of an August afternoon), Vuyo Satashe, are also on the bill.

In a longstanding Parker Festival tradition, the action on Sunday afternoon switches to Tompkins Square Park, across the street from where Bird lived in the early 1950s. Three outstanding young artists are featured with their own groups: the masterful Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, guitar virtuoso Pasquale Grasso, and the Canadian singer-trumpeter-songwriter Bria Skonberg, who always scores big in an outdoor festival setting.   

The main event on Sunday is a generationally diverse collective featuring three remarkable players who can all be safely described as avant-gardists: the veteran tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, who was encouraged by John Coltrane himself; the always surprising pianist Jason Moran; and an envelope-pushing singer who never disappoints,  Cécile McLorin Salvant. 

There are other events too, Birdland has two more Bird-centric shows on Sunday, including a program of orchestral music by a group billed as The Yard Bird Big Band. In the years following Parker’s tragically early death at 35, jazz fans took it upon themselves to scrawl the words “Bird lives” on walls all over the city — consider it the social media of its day. In 2022, it’s no longer necessary to rely on graffiti to tell the world that “Bird Lives”: The events at Birdland, Smoke, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival will take care of that.